


Sacrifices

by jetredgirl



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Complete, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-18 23:37:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4724465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetredgirl/pseuds/jetredgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sarah Williams is working as an archaeologist in Ireland, and makes an unexpected discovery. She must find a way to protect not only the one who returns to her life, but herself from feelings she buried deep within her heart that could cost her everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Labyrinth or any of it's characters. The OC's are mine. (not sure if we have to this here but will anyway)**

 

It was hot and sultry, having just rained the night before.

The workers dug through the rich wet earth, looking for whatever pieces of the past the could find.

Sarah Williams was one of them. On her knees in the dirt, covered in sweat and grime, she have never felt more wonderful.

At 27, being invited to such an important dig was an archaeologists' dream. To top it off, to be in Northern Ireland, a land she always felt such a kinship with was a bonus.

"Sarah!" She turned at the sound of her name. "Hey Danny." She smiled up at him as he made his way through the portioned off plots of land where various workers were working.

"Professor O'Donnell sent me to assist you. Well I believe his exact words were, "Keep you eyes on that Amercian, don't let her overlook anything." The blond man imitated with a smile.

Sarah laughed. "He certainly has his views on me." She replied as she when back to her gently shifting of the dark brown peat, looking for shards of bone and pottery, pieces of jewelry that might identify who these people were.

Professor O'Donnell had called for help for workers. Danny, who was a transplant from the US to Ireland was his assistant. O'Donnell had recently discovered this cache of ancient graves, and needed hands to help dig them out.

So far, they had found several bodies, but to this point had no idea exactly who they were.

The bones showed them to be a tall, thin people. Tests would have to be run to find out if they were even originally from these lands, or had settled and died here from somewhere else.

At first O'Donnell had protested bringing more Americans in on the project but Danny Lincoln had been a fellow student and friend of Sarah's in grad school.

He knew her to be smart with an excellent work ethic so O'Donnell agreed to give her a shot, so here she was.

She didn't really understand his feelings towards her, since though he had been born in Ireland, he had been educated in the US. It wasn't like he wasn't used to working with Americans.

Danny gingerly stepped over the partition and side by side, the two began working.

As they found little pieces they were set to the side in a long flat tray and would be taken to the examination tents for sorting.

"PROFESSOR!" A scream from a fellow worker came from somewhere nearby. "Somebody get O'Donnell now!"

Danny got up and gave Sarah a shrug. "I"ll be back."

Sarah went back to her work finding a bit of metal here, a piece of bone there.

Suddenly people were running towards the site the scream came from and she stood, craning her neck to see.

"Come on! They found another body!" Someone told her as they ran by. She dusted off her clothes and joined them. She wound her way through the crowd of people to see what was going in.

There was a fairly deep pit, with the professor, Danny and two other workers digging as gently as they could at a fast pace.

She got close enough to see it definitely looked to be another intact body.

Danny looked up and saw her."Come down Sarah. This is incredible. It looks to be a royal burial."

Her interest piqued, she climbed down the small ladder and crouched down with the others, helping to clear dirt and mulch out of the way.

The body was tall and thin, like the others, she could see that. Remains of very light hair was still attached to the thin leathery skin still covering the skulls face.

There were bits of jewelry and clothing, ancient leather and weathered cloth.

As she dug she found the remnants of a scabbard, with bits of a silver dagger encrusted with grime and rust.

Bits of feathers seemed to litter the area.

She could barely make out words engraved on the metal of the silver dagger.

_An rí owl Jar et mac_

The Owl King Jer et son of...? A shudder when through her. A distant memory coming forth in her mind.

Who was he the son of? The lettering was too worn to read further.

It took another several hours before they got the body clear, and laid it on a sheet of plastic to be lifted out of the pit.

They moved it to the tent that housed the 3 other intact bodies, placing it in a large plastic bag.

"It's late." The professor announced. "I will give him a closer examination in the morning. Fascinating! Now maybe we can get somewhere!"

Sarah had the words on the dagger spinning through her head.

_An rí owl Jar et mac._

It could not be. She thought. Even if he was dead, even if I killed him, he would not be buried in a peat bog in Ireland. That is ludicrous.

Everyone else left the tent. She went to the body and unzipped the bag, pulling the plastic aside and staring at the ancient bones.

She had to touch it..him.

She took off her glove and touched the delicate hairs, so blonde they were almost white. For some reason, tears sprang to her eyes and a feeling of terrible grief came over her.

"Jareth..." She murmured.

"You called?" A deep voice came from behind her and she spun around, meeting a pair of amused blue eyes.

The world tilted and everything when black.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Something was tapping her on the face. "Sarah..Sarah..are you alright?"

She blinked, opening her eyes. Danny was leaning over her with a concerned look on his face.

"What happened?" She said as she sat up slowly.

"I was just about to ask you that. I heard a scream and a thud, came back to find you laying on the floor out cold." He helped her to her feet.

"Oh I.." Then she remembered. She turned to look at the body on the table. The plastic bag still open to reveal the skull and hair. She felt sick. "Could you close that? I thought I saw something, but..if he knows I was in here looking at the body without his supervision he'll kick me off this team."

"Sure." Danny went and closed the bag. "You need help getting back to your hotel?"

She shook her head. "No I'm okay. Just the heat. Once I take a cool shower, maybe eat, I'll feel better." She went and grabbed her tools and other possessions from her work area and plodded through the work site to where her rental was parked. Danny trailing her all the way.

He knocked on the window before she left and she rolled it down. "Sarah, would you like have dinner Friday?"

"Yes, that would be nice."Sarah answered without really paying attention.

"Good." He replied. He bent into the car and kissed her on the lips. "I really like you Sarah."

The kiss took her by surprise. She didn't know what to say so she answered politely. "I like you too..um..I need to go."

As she drove the miles to the small town the inn she was staying in was, she thought over what had happened. "It had to be a hallucination. No other explanation. Shock. Yes, Shock. Just the weirdness of those words on that dagger. Made me think of things..made me remember stuff I shouldn't be thinking about again. Shit. I'm such an idiot." She laughed at herself.

She got to the inn and as soon as she got into her small room she stripped off her soiled clothing and showered, feeling much better. She threw on some clean clothes and went down stairs and ordered a sandwich, then took it up to her room.

She opened her computer and started researching the saying online trying to find some trace of it. The more she looked the more frustrated she got. There was nothing.

"You won't find me in your box, Sarah." This time she wasn't so startled. She pivoted in her chair and took in her old adversary.

He sat on her bed leaning casually against the headboard, watching her.

"For a while I thought you were very real, but then I started doubting it. I thought maybe you were just a dream or a hallucination." She said.

He tsked her. "After all these years, that is all you have to say? Rather anticlimactic. Also, are you well? You took quite a spill back there. I was concerned, but could not stay."

"I'm fine." She said tersely.

He stood and walked closer, leaning his hip on her desk. "I believe you have a question you would like to ask."

She swallowed hard. He was still so beautiful. Her knees were shaking. She was sure he could hear them banging together. "Was that..I mean that body..is that..you?"

He smiled. "Ah yes. That poor bugger. You know, you humans have a terrible habit of digging up graves and displaying the bones of the honored dead for all to see. Such a pity. You should have left it where it was. In fact, you should have left them all where they were. Sometimes humans meddle in things they have no business meddling in. Could get you all in trouble one of these days."

"You didn't answer my question." Sarah answered.

"It was..once. In another time and place." Jareth said truthfully.

"So..you're what, a ghost? and angel? a demon? What are you?" Sarah's curiosity was overcoming her apprehension.

He laughed. "None of those." He took her hand and placed it on his chest. "Do I feel like a ghost?"

She shook her head, biting her lip at the feel of his warm flesh under her hand. His heart beating steadily.

He got closer, his lips at her ear. "Would you compare me to anything close to an angel, precious?" His lips touched her lobe as his breath warmed her skin. She shivered.

"No." Was all she could say.

He moved back. "How astute of you." He dropped her hand and went and sat back on the bed. Crossing his legs and leaning his chin on one hand.

"Not a demon either. I will tell you the story, if you like. Of my people."

The part of her that had caused her to become an archaeologist cheered with glee. The part that took in the sad tone of The Goblin King's words, was intrigued at his melancholy expression.

"We were a proud people. We ruled here, this land now called Eire. Then it had another name, one you would not know of. Your race they were young. Hearty. We were fascinated. Though you did not possess magic as we did, the prolific pace in which humans bred was quite intriguing. We allowed humans to settle in our lands, for a price. They were skilled farmers and hunters, and seemed happy to let themselves be ruled over by us. Benevolently of course, for the most part."

He stopped to shift his position.

"Humans supplied much in the way of necessities, food, clothing, metal goods, it was mutually beneficial. My race protected yours here. The humans living upon our lands were safe, able to live in peace, unmolested by outsiders."

Jareth stood again, suddenly restless. "Do you have any wine? My throat is rather dry." He looked around.

Sarah went to the small refrigerator that contained alcohol and snacks, and grabbed a couple of small bottles.

She poured them into a glass and handed it to him.

"Thank you." He said. He drank deeply. "Not bad for aboveground wine."

Once his thirst was somewhat sated he continued. "The humans got greedy. They wanted power. Yes, a few of our leaders were not what you would call kind, but none were as cruel as humans have proven to be, the only one that was was put down. It started out small, a few bands of humans roaming around, looking for one of us to eliminate. Then it grew. Grew until it was a bloody, horrible war. There were not so many of us as them, as we do not procreate easily and never have."

Jareth's eyes briefly filled with sorrow at the memories but he recovered quickly and took another sip of wine.

"By then there were hundreds of thousands of humans in these lands, and they outnumbered us 20 to 1. As we fought to stay alive, our mages, kings and queens worked tirelessly for a solution. We were certainly long lived and hard to kill, but humans are creative in that way. Still are from what I have seen."

"Eventually, there was but one choice. We had to leave. We knew wherever we went in the human world, the same thing would keep happening, so we found a way to create one of our own. The underground."

"Oh my God." Sarah said, amazed by his tale.

"Yes well, your God was not of any help to us either, if he existed then." He smirked at her. "So we left. However, to leave, it required a sacrifice. That of our physical bodies in the world. To cross over to the underground, we had to die here. So we did. We were given new bodies. Immortal bodies. Made of magic, earth, water, fire, wind, spirit and stardust. We are very much alive just different than we were before."

"How did you become buried? If none of you were left..." Sarah began.

"I was getting to that. So impatient still, my dearest. Some stayed behind. Those who were too afraid, a few offered to stay and die at the hands of humans, so that The Kin would get a proper burial and rites. Some did survive the purge. Hiding themselves among the humans. Marrying, having children." He waved his hand nonchalantly.

"We needed to stay connected to this realm somehow, so I volunteered. I created the Labyrinth. Humans, foolish as they were discovered a way to get in at first..the magic turned them into goblins and other various creatures to protect us. Over time I found a way to temper the Labyrinth's magic and close most of the doorways between except my own personal path, and one other."

He got up and paced the room, hands clasped behind his back.

"As only a few thousand of us survived to cross, we needed to breed. It is difficult as I said. Rare for us to procreate naturally."

He paused and picked up the glass for another drink, finishing the wine.

"Myself and another magician worked for many years to create the magic that will turn a human to one of us. Hence the wishing away. The children of man come to us on the power of the wish, and are changed. We depend on the new blood to keep us healthy, if not really thriving. The changed human children, when they are adults, and The Kin have a little easier time procreating as well. We have increased our population. Only by several thousand, but it is something I suppose."

He sat the glass down and focused on her. "You, my dear girl, are the only human who ever won the child back. So of course you are the most fascinating human of all." He grinned at her, his teeth glinting in the lamplight.

"How are you able to come to me now? After all these years?" Sarah asked, enraptured by him once again.

"I felt your presence when you touched my bones. Though we are separated from those bodies we once occupied. Some small connection remains between myself and my former self, you might say. Touching my former body, saying my name, you gave me a door. The small amount of magic you were granted at your defeating my maze activated it. How could I not open it when on the other side was you?"

Sarah stood up from her chair, nervous. "I thought I'd killed you."

He laughed again, louder this time. His eyes dancing with delight. "Kill me? I am wounded you think so little of my skills." He clutched his chest and leaned back on the bed, feigning pain. "Oh you caused a fair amount of damage to my kingdom, but nothing I couldn't set to rights."

She glared at him and he got up from the bed and came to stand in front of her. With a gloved finger he traced her cheek.

"Such cruel eyes. I have missed them. Never before have I seen such eyes as yours, dear Sarah. So defiant. Such persistence. You sacrificed everything for the love of a child. I admire that about you. I could have given you any dream you desired. Even the one you dreamt of in your challenge."

"To dance at a masquerade with a king?" She asked, her brow wrinkling.

"That was not what you dreamt of. That is just how it presented itself, as you were too young to truly understand what you really wanted." He smirked knowingly.

Sarah's cheeks flushed. That she knew. Later on, when the *other* dreams starting happening, she had figured that out. Her desire for the handsome king was not something she had understood at the time, so her mind created a more innocent version of it.

He stopped and tilted his head, listening to something she could not hear. "I must go my love. Now that we can speak, I do hope we will do so often. I enjoy talking to you." He went to leave but stopped. and looked back at her. "Be careful of that boy. My senses tell me he is not what he seems to be." Then he was gone.

Sarah paced around her room for a while after Jareth had disappeared. Mulling over everything he had told her. It was a sad story, but also fantastic. She opened her computer and started typing it all out. If not for any other reason she did not want to forget it.

It was very late when she finally got tired enough to crawl into to bed, and was asleep before she hit the pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Sarah got up and dressed then drove her tired body to the work site. She had to stop all these late nights, she thought.

"You're late." One of the workers pointed out. "The professor is pissed."

She straightened her shoulders and went to the tent where the bodies were being stored in the plastic bags to protect them.

The older man had the bag containing Jareth's bones open, and he was cleaning and examining them.

He heard her come in. "I told you I don't like tardiness, Miss Williams." He said without turning around.

"I know. I was up late researching these remains. I couldn't find anything." Sarah answered. She stepped up next to him. She put on a glove and traced the bones that were once Jareth's hand laying over his chest. She wonder if the other was beneath him or missing.

Sadness threatened her again. In her head she knew Jareth was alive, but there was something fundamentally wrong with his remains being laid out here for all to poke and prod at.

"What have you found out about him?" Sarah asked innocently.

"Well..he was a noble of a sort, what tribe I can't figure out. The jewelry, the circlet, the remains of a feather cape."

"The Owl King." Sarah murmured.

He turned and looked at her. "The Owl King? Where did you see that?"

She pointed to the scabbard and dagger laying on another table. "It's engraved on the dagger."

He walked over and looked, she pointed out the faint carving.

"I researched all night and never found a thing." Sarah said.

"You wouldn't, Sarah, but you are wrong. There is a trace. A small one. But I have read it. It's an ancient story. Told by this land's earliest people."

"Can I read it?" Sarah blurted out. "Where?"

The professor practically rolled his eyes. "It's a book. A very old, very fragile book. They have it at the museum in town. I was allowed to study it for my work. The Owl King was a powerful king of a forgotten race of people. His people were killed by the thousands and he alone stood between their complete slaughter and life. Supposedly he created a doorway to another dimension and they all left this world."

He turned and looked at Sarah.

"After he was gone, those who chose to stay considered him a hero and his legend was passed down orally until somewhere down the line, someone saw fit to write it down."

The professor went back to the remains and ran an hand over the skull. "Not so magical after all, were we Owl King?"

The hair on Sarah's neck stood on end. She turned in a circle but did not see Jareth, but still, somehow she knew he had heard what O'Donnell had said, and did not appreciate it to say the least.

"Don't." Sarah said out loud. The menacing air lightened.

"What?" O'Donnell said. "Don't what?"

"Umm..oh nothing. Just talking to myself. It's stupid really, just a habit from being an only child. I was thinking, don't forget to go speak to Danny about something."

He gave her an odd look. "Get to work, Miss Williams."

"May I help you take care of Ja...these remains?" Sarah asked him. "I swear, I am really good at cleaning them, I minored in forensic anthropology."

"Perhaps later." He closed the bag up. "I need to go and do some research."

He left tent and Sarah laid her hand on the bag. "I'm sorry. Please, don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you. Or what used to be you. Okay?"

A gentle breeze touched her cheek, and she felt a warm sensation, like someone has kissed her there.

The thought made her smile, and she set off to work.

As she left the tent. She had no idea she was being watched closely and followed.  
_

Over the next several days Jareth would come to her for a while every evening, and he would tell her stories of his people. once he left she would write them down.

On the morning of the 4th day she went to the site once again with little sleep. She would go to the tent with the body in it first thing every morning, checking on it, and O'Donnell would let her hover for a few minutes before dismissing her.

Sarah spent this day working in her allotted space, but somehow her heart wasn't in it.

These were Jareth's people. Maybe we should just leave them alone. Except I don't know how to make that happen. I wish there was a way to shut the site down for a few days so I could think.

Suddenly the earth rumbled and shook. There was a giant crash, then dirt and dust filled the air.

She got up and walked around coughing, trying to figure out what happened.

"Sinkhole!" Danny came running up. "Sarah come on!" He dragged her towards an area at the edge of the site where they were digging deeper into the ground.

There was a large crater several meters across and 10 feet deep.

"Oh my god..are there people down there?" Sarah yelled.

"Yes!" Danny yelled back.

It took several hours of careful digging and and the local fire department was called in to help. No one was seriously hurt but there were some broken bones and there were several people stuck in the wet earth from the waist down.

"This ground is too unstable to to be digging round here." One of the firefighters told the professor.

"Nonsense. We will put it on hold for a few days, call in someone to do a geological survey, with some ground penetrating radar to be sure, but this was a fluke."

Sarah missed the rest of the conversation as they had walked off. She turned to Danny. "What the hell happened?"

"Everything was fine, then bam..it collapsed. We already had this ground surveyed and it was found to be safe. I wonder what changed." He answered as they walked. "Well we are going to be shut down for maybe a week. Hey, you want to drive over to the coast? It's beautiful there."

Sarah stopped listening, everything going around in her head.

Fuck. I caused that didn't I. I need to be more careful with him close by. No more wishing. Not even thinking of wishing.

She felt incredibly guilty. Someone could have been killed. It would have been her fault.

"So, what time should I pick you up?" Danny asked brightly.

She thought how odd it sounded. How he seemed so unconcerned for the others, and more worried about a dinner date with her.

"Umm..Danny are you sure it's a good idea? I mean some people got hurt today and.."

His face fell. "Not going to dinner won't change anything. We could just have dinner at the inn if you would rather."

He looked so excited she nodded. "Alright. I'll meet you at 7:30 in the restaurant."

"Great!" He said. "See you then!" He took off at a fast clip to his car.

Sarah sighed and went back to the tent that held the bones. Thankfully empty.

She couldn't help herself, she opened the bag again. Putting on gloves she examined them for a few minutes before she heard voices, she turned it slightly, just an inch.

Something caught her eye. down inside the bag there was a small gold coin in seemingly perfect shape clutched within the skeletal hand pinned beneath the body so firmly she could barely get a close look. It winked in the waning light filtering through the tent. She felt compelled to reach in and pry it from between the bones, stick it in her pocket, then zip up the bag before whomever was coming saw her.

The professor and another worker came in, stopping their conversation when they saw Sarah.

"Miss Williams you are quite fascinated with this set of remains, I see." O'Donnell said disapprovingly.

"Sorry. I was just trying to see the rest of the engraving, but couldn't make it out, so I thought maybe there would be something else that said..there wasn't."

She grinned at him, figuring she looked like an idiot with a big dumb grin on her face but oh well.

"You are excused Miss Williams. I will make sure you get a phone call when we get back to work."

"Thanks. See ya." She replied as she made a dash to grab her tools, washed them off and went to her car to leave.  
_

A quick shower, change of clothes and a touch of makeup was all she did to prepare for her date with Danny. He was sweet and a good friend, she had known him several years, but there were just no sparks. Still it might be nice to have dinner with someone besides her computer.

Unlike a particular someone who shall not be named, she thought, who not only set of sparks but caused a wildfire of emotions and memories she didn't want to think about.

"Stop it Sarah." She scolded herself.

"Stop what?"

Sarah jumped, startled. "Geez do you have to sneak up on me like that?"

Jareth was laying across her bed, twirling one of his crystals. "Not my intention, but it is difficult to warn you beforehand of my impending arrival."

"Yeah well..how about knocking on the door like a normal person?" She remarked flippantly as she put on her shoes.

"I'm not anywhere near a normal person." He got up off the bed and started poking through the books and papers on her desk.

Sarah laughed. "You can say that again."

"I'd prefer not to unless you did not hear me the first time." He answered, picking up something off her desk and reading. His eyebrows raising as he perused the book. Then looked over it at Sarah. "What in all the worlds, is Love's Wanton Reckoning?"

She snatched the book form his hands. "My business. It's just a romance novel, to help me sleep."

"Well from the few passages I saw the characters in your book are doing very little sleeping." He chuckled.

She threw the book in a duffel bag and zipped it shut then grabbed her hairbrush and began brushing her damp locks. "Do you mind, I'm trying to get ready for a date here."

She felt more than saw him bristle slightly. 'Oh. With the boy I take it? Sarah heed my warning. There is something off about that one."

She turned to face him pointing at him with the hairbrush. "Look, I really don't think I need dating advice from a king from another dimension who can probably have any woman he wants. You don't have to date. Women probably throw themselves at your feet. Besides, it's just dinner."

"True, I do have my pick of the loveliest jewels in the underground. Females seem to enjoy my company." He stretched out on the bed again. watching her. "Still I do wish you would be careful."

"Speaking of wishing," Sarah replied. "Did you cause that sinkhole to appear today? You could have hurt someone."

"I did not. A mere coincidence I'm sure. Are you saying you wished for something to happen and it happened?" Looking at his face, he was genuinely surprised.

"Alright. I believe you." She finished applying her lipstick.

"I could be lying."

She met his eyes in the mirror. "I can't explain it, but I just think I would know if you were."

He changed the subject. "Did you bring the coin?"

Her jaw fell. "How did you..?"

"Magic, obviously. Where is it?"

She retrieved it from her pants pocket and handed it to him. He then took it and created a crystal, manipulating it until the coin was attached to the finest gold chain she had ever seen.

"Wear it please, Sarah. That way I can come to you wherever you are and protect you. Without it, I am far too limited for my comfort." He held it out.

She stepped forward and bent her head, and he slipped over. The small coin landed between her breasts.

"Why do want to protect me?" she said quietly, their eyes catching and holding. "I'm just a plain human girl. No use to you. You just like to bug me because I beat you."

He placed his hands on her shoulders. "There is nothing true in that statement at all, Precious. Except the unfortunate circumstance of you beating me."

Sarah was curious as to what he meant. "Why was it unfortunate?"

"Simply put, I have no power over you. It is a blessing and a curse. At least for me. That you won makes me...invested in your wellbeing, you might say. Before I could not come to you unless you explicitly asked me to. The simple act of touching my...former self clutching that coin, and saying my name seems to have opened to door for me to appear to you at my discretion. The magic you were given may be more powerful than I assumed it was. Opening doorways to the underground is no simple thing."

"Should I even ask why you are invested in my wellbeing, as you put it? You know what? Never mind. I am going to be late if I don't go now. We can talk about this later..or maybe tomorrow."

"Planning on company tonight?" Jareth asked, in a none to amused tone.

"God no. Just a meal with a friend. Besides if I did, so what? I'm no virgin, Jareth. If I want to sleep with someone I will. I am an adult and don't need your permission." Part of her wanted to do it to annoy him. She knew it was stupid and she wouldn't do it.

The fact that he seemed all too possessive of her both annoyed her and made her feel...things she didn't even want to think about.

"Goodnight, Goblin King." She said, leaving the room.

Jareth frowned at the closed door. He unzipped Sarah's duffel bag and took out the book. "I better stay, she may have need of me yet." He reasoned out loud.

Opening up to the first page, he settled on the bed and began to read.


	4. Chapter 4

Sarah walked down the stairs, seeing Danny waiting for her at the bottom. She smiled at him. He held out his hand and she took it, then he tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow.

"You look great Sarah. You are such a knockout." He told her, grinning.

She gave him a smile back. "Thanks so do you." She returned. He did look nice, though she still held no attraction to him.

They found a table and sat, ordering drinks. Once they came and they ordered dinner, Danny spoke.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight? I mean really. Oh. I thought tomorrow we could take that drive to the coast. What do you think?"

Sarah had been reading the dessert menu. "I don't know..can I get back to you? Wow I didn't know the restaurant here was so nice. Mostly I go to the bar and get a sandwich if I eat here, or to the pub across the street and get a bite."

He took her hand again. "Well this is my treat Sarah. I've been looking forward to us going out since you got here. I always liked you back in school."

Sarah could tell by the frank interest in his face he was hoping for more than a friendly dinner. So she decided a little white lie might be the best thing. "Danny, I do like you a great deal. Really I do. The truth of it is though..there is someone else in my life, and I don't want you to get the wrong idea."

His face fell. "Oh. I didn't know. You never mentioned him before."

"We dated a long time ago, and he recently came back into my life. I guess my feelings for him never really went away because as soon as I saw him again...you know how it is right? I'm sure you've had lots of girlfriends. Sometimes you can't help how you feel for someone it just happens." She slipped her hand from his and picked up her wine taking a sip.

It's not a total lie, exactly. Bending of the truth, but not a lie. She reasoned to herself. Could be worse.

"He let you come here alone?" Danny replied gruffly, a little hurt. "I would never let my woman travel to a foreign country by herself. You never know what could happen."

She acted disappointed. "He wanted to come but he had business. Of course I wish he could be here with me, but it can't be helped. Anyway, I've been taking care of myself a long time now."

She picked up her wine to take another drink when a voice spoke behind her. An all too familiar voice.

"Hello darling I'm here, just as you wished."

The wine Sarah had been swallowing went down the wrong way and she started coughing.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" Jareth said as he patted her on the back and leaned over her.

She managed to clear her throat, grabbed a glass of water of the table and drank it down.

She turned to look at the Goblin King, prepared to give him her best "annoyed" look, and stopped cold.

Her jaw dropped. He was dressed impeccably, in a suit and tie of high quality. His hair was shorter, to his shoulders and slightly shaggy and he looked devastatingly gorgeous.

"Are you not happy to see me?" He smirked in his usual way then covered it up with an infuriatingly innocent expression.

She stood and faced him and crossed her arms. "What are you doing here?"

"I received your message asking me to make an appearance, so of course I rushed to your side, precious."

He flagged down a passing waiter and ordered himself a glass of wine.

Sarah suddenly remembered Danny was sitting there and turned back. He was openly staring at Jareth.

"Oh damn I am so sorry. I had no idea he was coming I swear. Ummm..Danny this is..Jay."

Jareth stuck his gloved hand out and Danny slowly stood and took it. The look on Danny's face was one that left Sarah no doubt Jareth squeezed his hand a little too tightly.

Sarah sat back down, wanting nothing more than to reach over and smack the satisfied look off Jareth's face.

"Charmed." Jareth said. "Good to know someone is looking out for my beloved Sarah. May I join you?" He asked politely.

"Sure, I guess." Danny answered.

Jareth took a chair from an unoccupied table and sat between them. He leaned back and crossed his legs, his eyes twinkling at Sarah.

"Why are you here?" Sarah blurted. "I mean..you didn't tell me you were coming." She glanced at Danny hoping he didn't think it sounded like Sarah was mad at the other man. She was, but not for the reasons Danny would think. Obviously, since Danny had no idea Jareth was a magical king from another world.

Jareth leaned in and took her hand and kissed it, cradling it between his. His eyes wide and imploring. "I wanted to surprise you. I missed you when we were apart. I thought you might have need of me."

For a moment Sarah lost herself in the eyes of the man in front of her, believing every word.

"I..uh..I..told you you I would be working." She stuttered out an answer.

"I know. I could not go a moment longer without seeing your lovely face. Do you mind truly?"

He rubbed her hand gently. The sensations he was causing by such a simple gesture making her feel hot all over.

"No I...of course not. I'm just surprised to see you here." She answered.

"Wonderful." He grinned and sat back looking rather like the cat who drank all the cream.

Just then the waiter brought hers' and Danny's meals, and that made Sarah feel awkward.

"Don't mind me Sarah, I ate on the plane. I'll tell you what, I will go up to the room and wait for you. Room number and key?" He held his hand open, grinning.

Sarah got the key out of her bag and laid it in his palm. "Room 16."

He, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you there. Knock and the door shall open." He bowed his head at Danny then he got up, turned and practically strutted out of the restaurant. She could not help but stare at his ass as he did. Just before he disappeared around the wall, he turned back and winked at her and she flushed red.

She could swear she heard him laughing inside her head.

She look at Danny and gave  him an apologetic smile. "I am so sorry. I did not expect him to just pop in like this. He is rather spontaneous at times."

Danny looked angry. Sarah was taken aback at how his eyes were full of such intense rage. She had never seen him look like that. "You know what Sarah, I am not very hungry after all."

He took some money out of his pocket and threw it on the table. "I'm going to go, and leave you to your boyfriend." He sneered at her, as he got up and practically ran out of the restaurant.

Sarah looked around to see she was being watched by almost everyone and blushed. She needed to stop that. Then again, maybe it was the company she was keeping.

The waiter came to the table. "Can I get you anything Miss?" He said kindly. He had seen what happened and was trying to be nice.

"No..the money is on the table. I am so sorry. I appreciate you asking. Can I have another glass of wine please?"

He took the money and went to get her the drink. When it came, she downed it and left a generous tip, then grabbed her bag and went to her room to yell at a very smug Goblin King.

Sarah got there and forgot she had given her key to Jareth so she knocked. "Open the door please." She said loudly.

On her 4th knock the door swung open.

The room was dim but she knew he was there. "Where are you, you jackass." She demanded.

The bedside lamp switched on. "I am right here, love. No need for name calling."

He was back to his normal look. Grey leggings, white tunic, brown leather waistcoat, flyaway hair. Lounging on her bed. Holding her book, again.

She moved to stand over him and ripped the book out of his hand, then pointed at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I told you I will date who I want to date!"

"I told you. I do not trust that boy." He said. He gently pushed her finger away. "Please remove your finger from my face, Sarah. Do not speak to me in such a way. I do not appreciate it. I am compelled to protect you. Believe me at times it is against my better sense to do so when you insist on so flagrantly defying me."

"I don't need you to protect me." She insisted, trying to control her volume level but failing. "You can't just waltz into my life after all these years, after everything I went through to...Well you just can't. I won't let myself do this again!"

She turned and stomped over to the desk chair and sat down, placing her head in her hands.

Jareth was genuinely confused. "Won't let yourself do what? Sarah, tell me. What do you mean everything you went though?"

She looked up her eyes blazing with emotion. "You don't understand the effect you have on people. You make them want things they can't have. You make them..me..dream of a future that isn't possible! It took me years to get over that. Therapy, drugs..God I can't do this." She leaned over, her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands again.

Jareth could hear in her voice she was crying. It tore at him.

He stood and went to her and crouched in front of her. He touched her arms and stroked her hair. "Please tell me. If you had need of me, all you would had to do is wish for me, I would have been there in an instant."

She lifted her head. Her eyes red and swollen. "After my little adventure in The Labyrinth, I was happy, ecstatic. For a while. Then a few months after the dreams started. The feelings I tried to pretend I didn't have during my little trek began to surface. I didn't dare call for you. I think I knew deep down inside you would come, but even scarier was the thought was that you wouldn't or that you were dead because of me, so it was easier to just not."

She got up and walked past his crouched form, looking out the window. "So I started taking sleeping pills to knock myself out. But it took more and more..so I went out and got something stronger. A year later I was addicted. Then I broke down and told my stepmother. She got me into therapy and rehab. I turned it around. I went to college, I found something I liked. I forced myself to bury everything deep, convince myself you were just a dream. Then the other day those damn bones appeared and dragged everything to the surface." A small humorless laugh escaped. "No pun intended."

She turned and looked at him. "I knew it was you. Yet I tried to deny it. The feeling that I had when I thought I had confirmation you had lived and died...I felt like I lost everything that ever mattered in that moment. Then I heard your voice and well, you know the rest."

Jareth straightened his body and spoke. "I am sorry. I wish I would have known all this. I would have appealed to come to you even without the wish due to your distress."

"I don't know if you being there would have helped, Jareth. It might have made it worse. considering it was you that made me feel that way. I didn't want to..but I couldn't help it. It just happened."

"What happened?" Jareth asked.

"I loved you damn it! Or I thought I did. I dreamed of you, hoped someday you would come through my window and steal me away. It was stupid and childish, but there it is. I thought I was over it, that it was just a crush. These past few nights... I..."

He got much closer all of the sudden. "You..what..Sarah." He said slowly. He took her chin between his fingers and tipped her face up. "Tell me."

"It feels the same but different too. Not the hollow despair from before. Because you are here, and close and sometimes all I want to do is.."

"Do what." Jareth asked. He was even closer, his eyes boring into hers.

She leaned into him and kissed him.

His arms were around her in a flash. His mouth moved over hers. He urged her mouth open, his tongue flicked against hers. He cradled the back of her head and deepened the kiss, wanting nothing but to never stop kissing her.

She pulled back. "Jareth.." she whispered against his lips.

"I have never wanted anything as much as I want you. Have always wanted..Sarah.." He answered, his voice husky with desire.

He kissed her again. He turned her and backed her towards the bed. She fell backwards and took him with her.

Sarah was drowning in emotion and heat. This was what she had dreamed of all those lonely nights.

His mouth on hers, his hands caressing her. It was better than she had ever imagined, and tore at the scars on her barely healed heart.

Her thin cotton dress was not much of a shield, so when he pressed himself into her she could feel him hard and ready.

Oh damn should I be doing this? she thought, her common sense beginning to return, telling her to stop this.

She turned her head away from his, denying him further access to her mouth but he misunderstood and started placing open mouthed kisses on her neck.

"Jareth..Jareth...stop. I..can't."

He did immediately and rolled off of her.

"I apologize. I let myself get caught up." He said.

"I did too." She admitted. "This all just seems too convenient I guess. Like since you're here I might as well go ahead and fuck you and get it over with, you know?"

"I wouldn't complain." He teased.

She sat up, looked over at him and giggled. "No I suppose you wouldn't. I'm still trying to get the whole "Jareth the Goblin King Currently Alive and Well in My Room" is also "Dead Guy in Bag" worked out in my head."

"Yes.. about that love." He gave her a sheepish grin. "Could you me one small favor?"

She got off the bed and straightened her clothes. "What?"

"Could you burn the "Dead Guy in Bag" version of me? Preferably to ash? In fact, it would preferable if all the remains found on the site were destroyed." He asked.

"You have got to be kidding me." Sarah was dumbfounded at such a request. "Do you know what would happen to me if I got caught doing something like that? I would get arrested and sent to prison for years! Why?"

He got up off the bed and got himself a drink. Sarah had kindly bought a couple of bottles of wine to keep in her room for him.

"I am not certain, with the advances in human science, if it would be entirely safe for the human race to know mine exists. Or ever existed. Also, there is the issue of The Labyrinth Stone."

"I've never heard of that." Sarah said.

"It's the only remaining way to get to the underground from the above, without the power of the wish My mother insisted we leave a way for any stragglers to get to the underground. So it was created. One has to merely place the key in the center, lay hands upon it and the door and say the right words. Only our kin knew of it to be sure...but to be safe, it should returned to me or my mother, or barring that be smashed to bits. Humans cannot be trusted with such powerful artifacts." He gave her the once over. "Well most humans. You are an exception of course."

Sarah was intrigued. "Where is it?"

"In the general vicinity of where my body was removed. I am not completely sure as earth shifts over time but it will not be far. It is buried near myself so the Kin who stayed could find it."

He walked to her and slid his finger under the chain of the necklace he had placed on her neck.. "This, is the key. Which is why, when you touched my former self with the key made of my magic upon those bones, a door opened from me to you."

She crossed her arms. "You have a tendency to give out information one piece at a time, you do realize that?"

"Of course. You've seen my Labyrinth. If I handed you a map at the beginning how much of an adventure would it have been for either of us?" He shrugged.

"Did anyone ever use it after you all left...any stragglers?" Sarah had to ask.

A look of long distant pain crossed Jareth's face but was gone in a flash. "No. None of the remnants of the Kin ever came. Most were killed. Maybe a few were able to blend in. After a time, due to mating with humans, the magic was successfully diminished in their offspring that they would not have been powerful enough even if they knew of it.

"So there are descendants of your people here still? I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions." Sarah said, going back to the desk chair. "I can't help it. This is just so..incredible."

"I do not mind answering your questions. You have a connection to my kin. You should know these things. You are, after all the only Champion of The Labyrinth. That holds some standing among us. We admire that about you."

"You admire me, and others know about me?" Sarah was surprised, with his ego, he would have told anyone.

He gave her a slight nod but didn't clarify the point. "The answer to your previous question is yes. There are family lines that still contain traces of my people within them. Some stronger than others. The stronger lines tend to be creative, almost mystical people whom other humans are drawn to for reasons they can not comprehend." He paused to take a drink.

"They are often incredibly lucky and seem oddly separated from humans in some way. Different, maybe more highly evolved in some way. Some are driven mad by their gifts, because they have no way to understand them with a human brain. Some come to terms with it after a lifetime of troubles...accept they are not quite the same as everyone else. Not better, just different."

Sarah was taking all of this in, trying to commit it to memory. She didn't want to forget anything so when she wrote it down later it would be complete.

"Thank, Jareth, for telling me all of this. It can't be easy, remembering all the things that happened here to your people."

He was looking out the window much like she had earlier. Sarah thought, from the look on his face, he was in the distant past, seeing something she could not see.

"The land has not changed that much. All of the buildings were not here. Trees and plants in different places, but the land is very much the same. My brothers, sister and I used to race over those hills there." He pointed. "There where those homes are in the distance? We had a garden and fruit trees. Our home was down that way, near the creek."

A wave of sadness came from him so strong it was palpable to Sarah. She came to stand behind him, and placed a hand on his back. "I'm sorry Jareth. That my people did that to yours. It's terrible sometimes what we do to not only ourselves but others. There are a lot of good people though, that would never do that."

"It was not your doing, Sarah, you have nothing to apologize for. I am in the unfortunate position to only see the worst of humanity a great deal of the time. Some of the children I see, that I am called upon to retrieve...you remind of the goodness that remains here as well."

"Yeah I guess not all wishers are silly melodramatic teenage girls frustrated with a crying brother. I never thought of it, but I can only imagine how terrible a lot of the people are. How many actually attempt to solve the Labyrinth?"

"Far too few. To many humans look upon their own offspring as if are a nuisance, a curse, a hindrance. What I would not give to have just one of my own. One child of my own blood."

"But you have siblings?" Sarah asked.

"One. Just one lives. My eldest brother. We were 4, once. My sister was killed early in the purges, My other brother chose to stay behind and bury our bodies. He survived for a time, but eventually they found him. His bones are likely scattered in the area your group is working among the graves of our dead, where our people made their last stand. My mother, she is a rather ancient being, 4 children over her lifetime was not unusual. Even here we could live for thousands of years before going to the Summerlands. We are much the same as before, but impervious to all but one thing, iron. That was one thing even magic could not alter. Even if we did age slowly, we *did* age. Now we stay the same. Those few children that come from above, or are born, do grow, but once they reach the physical equivalent of 30-35 human years, that is the way they stay."

Sarah brought her other hand to rest on his waist, resisting the urge to hug him in fear of starting something anew. "You will have a child someday, I just know it. You will find a beautiful woman and marry her and you will have a handsome son or a beautiful daughter."

He turned his head to look over his shoulder at her. "Perhaps. If the fates allow it." He turned and cupped her cheek. "I must go. A kingdom to run and all. Goblins are terribly destructive if not supervised."

"You will come back tomorrow?" Sarah inquired hopefully.

"If you wish it. I will return. please..stay safe." He bent to kiss her, but at the last moment kissed her forehead instead and tweaked her chin and smirked. "Champion."

She leaned into him but he was gone and she was grabbing air.

Her heart was pounding so she took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"Damn it. Don't do this to yourself Sarah. It can only end in heartbreak for both of you." She said out loud to no one.

She sat at the desk and stared at the screen of her computer for several minutes before finally forcing herself to get to work writing down all Jareth had told her.

It was near dawn before she crashed into bed and slept, dreaming of him.


	5. Chapter 5

The phone rang, waking Sarah out of a sound sleep. She looked at the clock, 9:34.

"Ugh." She grabbed the phone up and tried to sound minimally lucid. "Hello?"

"Hey Sarah, it's me." A rather contrite Danny replied.

"Oh. Hi." She sat up and stretched. "What's going on?"

"O'Donnell wanted me to call and let you know, everything is clear to go back to work today. He expects everyone here after lunch."

"Alright." She answered. She really needed to get more sleep. Right now, coffee and lots of it were needed.

Danny continued. "Sarah..I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so mad. He seems nice. Rather full of himself, but nice."

"What..oh. Yeah. It's fine. I understand. All is forgiven." She was trying not yawn.

"So, are you two engaged or something?" He asked.

Sarah thought she should answer that rather carefully. "Not really. Maybe we..I'm not sure yet." She answered.

"Alright, Well, I'll see ya later, Sar." Then a click and dial tone.

Odd, Sarah thought. She was grateful he apologized, otherwise working with him would be awkward.

She forced herself to out of bed. A quick shower and clean clothes, and she left her room to get a cup of coffee the size of her head and get to the worksite.

She had to talk O'Donnell into letting her work on his group, near where they had found Jareth's formers selfs' bones.

She needed to find that stone before anyone else.

When Sarah arrived the work site was abuzz with activity, everyone happy to be back to work.

She immediately went to the tent where those bones lay in their protective bag. No one was around so she opened it. She found herself unable to stay away.

"What am I going to do with you?" She whispered.

"Talking to the bones again?" Danny walked up beside her, grinning. "You are bit obsessed with this old guy."

"Yeah.. I guess so. He is fascinating." She answered quickly. "I feel like I know him, somehow."

"You are an odd one. Maybe it's the company you keep." He said a little too sharply. "It puzzles me, That when we were on college you never mentioned this Jay guy. Plus you went out with a couple of other men at that time too."

"I knew him before college. Met him in in high school. I mean I was in high school he wasn't. Obviously." Sarah answered. She was really getting tired of explaining herself and her relationship with Jareth to Danny.

She closed the bag and went to leave the tent, but Danny grabbed her and pulled her back. "That guy was hitting on a high school girl? That's fuckin' weird Sarah. He sounds dangerous."

She snatched her arm away. "He is not dangerous. Not to me anyway. He would never hurt me, and don't ever talk about him that way. Keep your hands off of me and don't jerk me around. You are asking for more trouble that you would be able to handle."

Danny put his hands up. "Hey..sorry. Wasn't trying to do anything, just saying."

Sarah felt the air around her darken once more. He was watching silently, waiting.

Danny seemed to sense something was amiss. He ran his hands over his arms. "Man it just got cold in here. Do you feel it? Maybe it's haunted by the ghosts of these bones."

Sarah laughed. If he only knew. "No, there are no ghosts here. I need to go talk to O'Donnell. See you later."

She was out of the tent before Danny could say another word.

The young archaeologist walked over to the bag holding the body Sarah was so fascinated with. "For an old dead guy, you are sure getting a lot of play. Guess Sarah is into old men. Hopefully I can change her mind, huh?"

Danny went to leave and something jerked him back by the neck. Next thing he knew he was laying on the ground staring at the top of the tent. "What the hell..?" He swore he heard a deep chuckle nearby.

The hairs on his neck rose, so he got to his feet and left the tent, rattled.  
_

"Professor may I speak with you?" Sarah said to the older man digging a trench.

He look up and practically rolled his eyes. "Yes Ms. Williams?"

"I was wondering if I could work with you and your team. I would really like to learn and you re so experienced, it would be so beneficial if I could watch you work."

She had decided to attempt flattering him an might be her only shot.

"Miss Williams, you are a competent archaeologist, and a hard worker, but I am just not certain you are right for my immediate team. You seem..flighty." He leaned on his shovel.

"Please, Professor O'Donnell it's the best way I know to move forward. To get the experience I need."

She watched him ponder her words. "Alright. I'll give you a shot. One mistake and you're back to searching dirt patches for pottery shards, right?"

Sarah nodded enthusiastically, though inwardly thinking she would like to smack the man. What an ass.

"Take some tools and go work at the other end of the pit. I need that area that caved in cleared." He pointed.

"What are we looking for exactly..do you know?" She asked innocently.

"I'm not sure yet." He told her. "Not that I believe that nonsense, but these bodies, these artifacts, may be connected to the legend of the Tuatha de Danaan."

Sarah paused. Jareth had never mentioned that his people were called that, but maybe they were the stories the legends were based upon. interesting she never connected the two until now.

"Well are you going or not?" O'Donnell barked.

"Yes, sorry." She grabbed tools and climbed down into the pit, gingerly wove her way through the other workers' areas, and got to work.

She worked until almost dark, taking shovels full of earth and sifting them with the sifter and with her fingers. She gently removed anything that looked like it might something other than dirt or rocks, to be examined more closely later.

When she was done she was sweaty and filthy, and had not seen a sign of any stone.

Another body was found across the pit not far from where Jareth's had been found. from listening to the chatter, it was a female and again suspected to be royal. Sarah wondered if it was Jareth's sister. She went to see and even from several feet away could see extensive damage to the bones that was not present in the others. Her fingers itched to examine them.

When she hauled herself into her room at the inn, Jareth was waiting for her. "You look like hell." He said first thing.

"Thanks, way to make me feel great." She replied. Irritated. She knew she was simply overtired, but couldn't help it. "I'm going to take a long hot shower." She grabbed her pajama pants and a tank top and disappeared into the bathroom.

When she came out she felt much better. Though she wasn't happy to see Jareth had once again commandeered her book and was reading it and grinning.

"You are too damn nosy." She told him as she walked by and snatched out of his hands.

"Merely amusing myself. This Lady Beatrice, she is quite the vixen. I am curious what a "throbbing wand of love" this pirate wields is about."

Sarah blushed. "I told you it was just to help me sleep. Besides, I am pretty sure you know what that is. Considering how tight your pants are."

Jareth's laugh was loud at that, his head tipping back against the headboard. "Oh Sarah. Have you been looking? I'm flattered."

"Jareth anyone who has eyes is looking. I got quite a preview against my thigh last night." She pointed out.

He got up off of the bed and walked over to her as she brushed her hair. Taking it from her, he began brushing it. He was surprisingly gentle. Working each damp snarl out with his fingers before brushing through it.

"Play your cards right, and you can feel it in a far more intimate place than your thigh." He leaned in and teased, meeting her eyes in the mirror, noting her blush increased a great deal.

Sarah felt herself get hot and her body responded to his sensual words. So she decided to change the subject. "Jareth, what is the Tuatha de Danann to your people?"

He stopped a moment, then started again. "I had wondered if you would ever ask about that name. It was not what we called ourselves. We simply call our people The Kin. Over thousands of years, with the remnants of stories passing down, it is a name someone came up with. We had no real race as you humans separate yourselves into. We just *were* period. Humans gave us these names, Tuatha, Fae, Aes Sidhe. Danu was never a goddess. She is an incredibly powerful woman, but not a goddess. In your world a demi-goddess perhaps. As she is now immortal and is the most potent magic weaver among my people to still live."

She looked up and watched him in the mirror."You know her?"

He sat the brush down and moved to sit next to her leaning against the desk. "She is my mother. I am her youngest son."

Sarah couldn't help it, she was truly shocked. "You have got to be fucking kidding me." Sarah marvelled at what he just told her.  _Talk about dropping a bomb!_  She thought.

"I assure you I'm not. She knows of you, too. You have made quite an impression in the underground. Someday I hope you can meet her."

"I..uh..okay. Wow." Sarah replied. She figured she probably sounded like an idiot. Then she remembered what she wanted to tell him.

"Jareth, I think they found your sister today. I thought you should know, in case you see. I don't want you to be surprised."

Jareth's head bowed forward and he spoke in a language she couldn't quite understand, traces of Gaelic but something more, it lilted and flowed like a song. When he looked up, she saw his eyes were red and unshed tears dwelled in the corners of his eyes. He moved a hand over his eyes and blinked them back.

She put a hand on his leg and squeezed, "I'm sorry. To everyone else she is a just a pile of ancient bones to be studied. To you, she is family. I wish there was something I could do."

He nodded. "Her name was Laoise. She was a true beauty, so kind and gentle. Of all of us she should have been the least likely to be chased down like an animal and butchered. That is what they did. The beat her, raped her, speared her, and cut her open. You see, Laoise was with child. She had met a human and loved him dearly. He tried to protect her but he was killed first. They took the child from her womb, killed him, and left him at the door of our family home. We followed the blood trail and found her. She did not deserve such an end."

"Oh God." Sarah was horrified. She stood and put her arms around Jareth, laying her head on his shoulder and cried for the poor woman. "I cannot imagine."

He laid one hand over hers. "That was the day we decided we had to leave. That if a woman such as her could be so viciously dispatched and left in the woods to rot, there was no more safety for us."

They stayed in that position for a while longer, both lost in their thoughts.

Sarah yawned and Jareth straightened, moving away. "You should sleep. I know you have not been getting proper rest. I will leave you now." He made to go.

"Jareth wait." Sarah replied. He turned back."If you don't have anywhere you have to be, would you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep. I wouldn't mind the company."

She took his hand and led him to the bed. she climbed under the covers and patted the mattress next to her.

He agreed and took off his boots, laying down next to her and spooning her body. The blankets between them.

She kissed his cheek and snuggled into his arms. "Night Jareth." In a few minutes she was sound asleep. He laid there for a while, wondering if he should go or stay.

He conjured up a crystal and checked his kingdom, seeing most of the goblins passed out drunk on goblin ale. "I suppose a few hours would not matter." He said. pulling her warm body closer, Jareth too, was soon slumbering comfortably.  
_

_Her heart raced as she ran through the dark woods, angry voices growing closer, too close. Her tears at watching her betrothed struck down almost blinding her._

_If I can only make it home, I will be safe. Her brain reasoned. There, her family could protect her. She should never have left her family to live with Garrick no matter how much she adored him. She should have insisted he move in with her family._

_Her feet were blistered and burning, the rough ground making them raw. They bled she knew but she could not stop. Her lungs screamed for breath._

_Because she could not see, she tripped and fell, her ankle snapping. She crawled until her hands were as bloody as her feet._

_It was no use. Within minutes they were upon her._

_They beat her face, her body. They ripped her cotton shift from her to reveal her pale skin, leering and poking at her. Saying crude things._

_She screamed as the first one took her, using her broken bleeding body as she screamed for her brothers..for her mother._

_Then he was done and another was upon her, inside her, having no care, bruising her most sensitive flesh. Then another and another. until she was barely conscious from the rapes and blows of their fists and weapons._

_She thought it was over, they would go away. They did not. A searing pain worse than anything she had ever known began under her breasts as the cut into her, opening her, tearing out her_ _child from her womb, showing him to her as she lay bleeding and dying._

 _Mercifully_ _a hand with a knife in it appeared and drew it deep across her throat, the pain began to numb as the darkness nibbled away at her sight..and she knew no more...  
__

Sarah screamed.

Jareth was awake instantly. Alert and seeking out the danger as he held onto the writhing whimpering woman next to him.

"Let me go! Please.. stop! Don't!" She pleaded "God don't kill me!"

Jareth sensed nothing in the room. He turned his attention to Sarah and held her down trying to get her to awaken from her nightmare.

"Sarah. Sarah! Wake!" He commanded. Her struggling slowed and stopped. She lay there panting, the glaze over her eyes clearing.

"Oh God.." She looked up at the man sitting practically on top of her, and burst out crying.

There was a knock on the door. "Miss? Miss? What happened? Do I need to call the police?"

Jareth moved off of her and she sat up, trying to think. "No..." She was still trying to gather herself.

"I don't think he can hear you." Jareth whispered. There was another knock.

Sarah practically lept off the bed and went to the door unlocking it but leaving the chain on, cracking it open to see the faces of the elderly man and his wife who had the room across the hall. "I am so sorry." Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "I had a nightmare. My..um..fiance is here and I'm okay. We watched a scary movie tonight and I guess I shouldn't have." She tried to appear appropriately contrite.

"Oh thank The Good Lord, young lady. We were so worried." The woman said. "I thought you were alone?"

Jareth was there before she could say anything further, he had glamoured himself again to look like a very sexy, disheveled human dressed in only pajama bottoms. He closed the door and unchained it then opened it fully to reveal both of them.

"I apologize Sir and Madam, I told her not to watch the frightening film but she did. Next thing I know she was screaming in my ear." He smiled at them. "I'm Jay. I came to visit my dear Sarah and keep her company for a few days." He stuck out his hand to the man who slowly took it and gave it a shake. He then took the elderly woman's hand and bowed over it, kissing her knuckles.

The woman blushed at the handsome shirtless man holding her hand in his. "Well fine fine. Young girl alone, we got worried. You know how it is."

He let go her hand and took a step back from the doorway, snaking a hand around Sarah's waist in a possessive gesture. "I do. I am grateful such a lovely couple is here looking out for my beloved. Have a good night."

"Goodnight." The couple said together as Jareth closed the door.

Sarah looked it and turned to him. "I'm so sorry. I thought you were leaving though."

"I chose to stay and I too fell asleep. It is still dark." He pointed out.

They both looked at the clock. 2:25am.

Sarah turned the light off and crawled back into bed. "Are staying or going?"

"Would you like me to stay?" He asked. She nodded. "Will you tell me about it?"

He lay down on his back and she turned and curled into him. This surprised him but he wrapped an arm around her.

"I was running. Being chased..then..they found me, hurt me. I think..I think I saw what happened to your sister. I don't know why but I did. I hope I wasn't her in another life or something."

He hugged her. "You are not a reincarnation of Laoise, Sarah. That is not possible. The Kin did not reincarnate. When we crossed to The Summerlands it was for good. "

"But what about..you know dying and getting new bodies in another world?" Sarah was puzzled.

"Fair point." He answered. "It is an altogether different process, one aided by magic only 3 of my people can weave. Myself, my mother, and another. At that time that magic was not in place. She died early in the purges."

"It was awful Jareth..just..the scenes flashing in her mind again. She started trembling. "I wish it would get out of my head."

Her eyes filled with tears again as she thought of it.

Sarah felt herself being shifted so that she sat across Jareth. Her head on his chest, legs tucked neatly on the other side of him. His other hand coming to rest on her hip that was facing away from him so she would not slide.

"I know, love, I know." He said, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Maybe I have told you too much. You seem to be something of an empath. You should not be taking on these feelings and images in your head."

She looked up at him and touched his face, tracing his cheekbone. His eyes were hooded, as he looked at her. 'Sarah.." He meant it as a warning, but it came out a plea.

He bent his head and kissed her. Sarah moaned and kissed him back, curling a hand around his the back of his neck, encouraging him to continue.

The kisses changed from soft and yearning, to passionate. Once again Sarah was on her back, Jareth partially on top of her.

This time when she tilted her face up, it was to give him access to her neck. He took it gladly, using the tip of his tongue trace her jawline over to her ear, and suckling her earlobe.

His hand crept under her tank top. His long fingers touching her bare stomach, moving to just under her breasts, waiting for a sign to continue.

He had changed back to himself but kept the pajama pants. As he pressed against her thigh she could tell he wore no undergarments and was quite aroused by their fervent kissing.

"Jareth I.." She began, unsure of what to say.

He stopped and looked at her. "Do you wish to stop?" He asked. "I will only go as far as you want me to."

Sarah ran her hands over his warm silky skin. His was chest smooth and lightly toned. While he was slender, she knew he was quite strong. Far stronger than any human several times his size.

She picked up his hand and looked at it. She had forgotten he was rarely without gloves until this moment. She took the opportunity to trace his long tapered fingers with hers. She turned his hand over and lifted to her lips, kissing his palm. "You have musician's hands. They are beautiful. Of course they are. Like you."

She put her palm to his and he threaded his fingers through hers. Watching her and wondering what she was thinking.

She watched him as he held her hand against his chest reverently. He just waited not moving. The way he looked at her, like she was the most beautiful thing in the world made her heart beat faster.

She should not be doing this. She should shove him away, and keep him at arm's length. If she did this, there would be no going back.

She didn't stop him. She once again pressed her hand against his neck, and he complied, kissing her again and again. "I don't want to stop. This is all I've ever wanted since I was 15." She told him. He kissed her face, her neck, her chest.

She urged him to sit up and she pulled her tank top over her head, leaving her bare from the waist. His eyes shifted to almost black as he looked at her. "You are beautiful. You always have been. An attractive woman child has grown to become a stunning woman."

He cupped her breasts, thumbs rubbing over her nipples. Her back arched slightly and she gasped as he touched her sensitive flesh. He lay his head between them, listening to her racing heart. He closed his eyes and enjoyed her closeness a moment before resuming his explorations.

He suckled her taut peaks one at a time, watching her face as he gave her pleasure. She was so wonderfully vibrant, so much passion.

He pushed her bottoms down and Sarah tilted her hips up so that he could slide them down, taking her panties with them. He threw them aside and sat back on his knees.

"Gods, Sarah. If you only knew how much..."

She sat up and pressed her fingers to his mouth. "No. I don't want to just talk about it anymore. I need you."

She scooted closer and untied the string on his pants reaching inside and grabbing his behind.

"Damn. You have a nice ass." She smiled up at him. "You always have. I never forgot that."

He laughed and caressed her face. "Why thank you, precious." He leaned down and kissed her. "I quite enjoy yours as well."

He watched as her soft full mouth moved downward to his chest, nibbling at his small pink nipples, hearing his breath catch and a soft moan.

She kept going. She loved how his hips curved to his flat abdomen, and downward. He had a small trail of fine pale hair that began at his belly button(she briefly pondered why a body created with magic would have one, but shrugged it off as his body being an exact duplicate of his former self) and disappeared under his pants. She pushed them down and followed the path with her mouth. She didn't push them all the way down, so she could tease him with her tongue.

She looked up to see his head tipped back, his eyes closed. This made her happy.

She gave in and slid the bottoms all the way down to where his knees were bent, and freed his erect cock. It was as beautiful as he.

Flicking her eyes up, she saw he was watching her as he stroked her head, face and shoulders.

She took him in her hands, her fingers running over the tip of the shaft.. The skin there was soft, but he was as hard as a rock. His breath and heartbeat quickening.

She took him in her mouth and he groaned loudly. His hands running through her hair. "Sarah..you're driving me insane with want of you." He told her.

When she looked up again, he was still watching her as she sucked and licked him. She winked at him as she worked him.

"Wench." He said, his voice low and raspy.

She hummed her pleasure as she continued, and noticed he was trembling in restraint. His hips moving back and forth with her mouth. She took her mouth off to speak. "Don't hold back, Jareth. I want to taste you, to please you."

Her words worked further to arouse him and she didn't think it possible but he got even harder. He was close. His erection was throbbing in her mouth, the tip turning red.

A few more movements of her mouth and his hips thrust violently forward. With a groan he emptied himself onto her tongue, grunting with each thrust and saying her name. She took all he gave her, then gently cleaned him as he looked back down and watched her pink tongue running over him, as she smiled into his eyes, satisfied she gave him pleasure.

He pulled her up and practically threw her backwards on the bed kissing her with abandon. "Sarah..you are a goddess. How I adore you." He murmured in between kisses.

He kissed down her body and spread her thighs, burying his face in her damp heat. "Your taste is so sweet. I knew it would be. Already I am addicted." He said as he made love to her with his mouth. His tongue probing between her folds and flicking at her bud, then down to her opening and inside. He continued making this path finding her most sensitive spots and focusing in on them.

Sarah grabbed the headboard as he pleasured her. She gasped and moaned, arching and pushing her body upward to meet his talented mouth. After a few minutes he focused on her clit, sucking it into his mouth and rolling it with his tongue. All the time he was watching her face. He slid two fingers into her and finding her most sensitive spot, rubbed it and pushed.

Sarah's orgasm took over her body, she tried to keep from screaming so clamped her mouth shut, soft whimpering noises taking their place. Her body shook and felt electrified as waves of orgasmic bliss kept coming, slowly lessening. He returned the favor that she had done, lapping at her until she was spent, her body like a pool of jelly.

"Holy hell." She said when Jareth moved up to be face to face with her. "What have you done to me?"

"Enjoyed that did we?" He joked. She bent her neck forward to kiss him, tasting herself on his lips.

She felt him hard against her hip. "That was fast." She noted.

"I recover quickly. Watching you come for me was incredibly stimulating. I must do that often." He answered.

"You'll get no argument from me." She quipped.

He chuckled and kissed her again. "I expect not."

Sarah sat up and pushed him on his back and straddled him, rubbing her soaked sex as against his hard flesh. "Do you mind? I always pictured myself on top, with you. That was always my favorite fantasy." her fingers drew circles on the warm skin of his chest.

He grinned. "I am your slave, Sarah." She reached back and took him in her hand, then slid over him. She seated herself completely with him deep inside, as far as he could go.

Sarah gasped at the sensation of being so stretched and full. She paused for a moment, letting her body adjust to his girth.

He moaned at the feeling of being tightly wedged inside of her warm body. She squeezed her muscles and he groaned her name.

"You are so damn tight woman. Like a glove. A perfect fit." he said to her. He ran his fingers over her breasts lightly pinching her nipples.

Sarah began to move. She rocked her hips forward and back, then wiggled against him. He grabbed her hips to support her movements. She leaned forward and spread her legs as far as she could on either side of his hips, supporting herself with her knees and hands so she could get maximum penetration and movement.

She started rocking more vigorously, the friction causing amazing ripple of pleasure to occur inside of her, moving outward. She positioned herself so with every downward thrust of her body, he was hitting that place inside that made her whole body shake.

Jareth leaned up far enough to suck on her breasts adding to her bliss. He was nowhere near still, his body thrusting up to meet hers. His hands grabbing on to her behind and giving her strokes even more power.

Sarah felt the edge of her climax approach. She cried out as she leaned backwards, her hands on his thighs, letting go and riding him all the way through it. When she came down from her peak, she laid on top of him and rubbed her face oh his smooth skin.

He cradled her head against his chest and rolled her, never dislodging himself from her warmth. "I'm not through with you yet." He told her as he pumped into her body.

"I have had my fantasies too." He pulled out momentarily and flipped her onto her belly, pulling her hips up until she was on her knees, then he was inside of her again his hands reaching around. He grabbed at one of her breasts, taking a nipple between thumb and forefinger and pulling at it, and the other going between her legs to rub her clit. "Scream my name, Sarah. I want my name on your lips when you come again for me. I want you to know and understand, that now you are mine alone." He growled into her ear. He nuzzled into her neck and nipped at the tender flesh there, biting down to mark her as his own.

His words, and the sting on her neck caused by his sharp teeth made her come undone, the orgasm it caused was the most powerful one yet. She felt like her body was completely unraveling and coming apart, then snapping back together and she could do nothing but let it happen. "Jareth!" She screamed. Just like he wanted.

She felt him throb and twitch then felt him spill himself deep within her body, his thrusts becoming irregular as his climax overtook him. He moaned into her neck. "Gods..Sarah.." He purred. Making her body hum.

Sarah fell forward onto the bed as her body relaxed. She felt him slip from her body and lay next to her. They were both panting heavily from their lovemaking.

After a few minutes she turned her head. "I hope...the neighbors...don't come back." She said between deep breaths trying to even out her breathing. A smile playing over her lips as their eyes met.

He smiled, then started snickering. The laugh got stronger and he rolled on his back, his body shaking.

Sarah turned and lay an arm over him, giggling along. His laugh was music to her ears. She snorted and it started him off again.

He reached out and stroked her face and shoulder."That would be rather inconvenient wouldn't it. Let us hope they think you had another nightmare."

They laughed together a few minutes longer and thankfully there was no knock on the door.

As dawn began to break, the rising sun found them asleep in each other's arms, content.

Outside, a dark figure who had heard the cries and screams of pleasure, his mind and heart raging at the dark haired woman. "Fucking human slut. She'll fucking pay." He said through gritted teeth.

He sped off on foot, wanting to not be there when the sun rose.


	6. Chapter 6

Sarah woke up late, and alone. Though there was a note.

_I apologize at my departure, my love. I would have much preferred watching you wake in my arms. I was called upon and had to take care of my kingly duties. I left you a gift on your desk. Until tonight. Your eternal slave, Jareth._

She smiled and reread it then looked at the desk. There was a large cup of coffee and chocolate doughnut covered in gooey frosting and sprinkles thoughtfully placed upon a rather ornate plate waiting for her.

"Coffee and chocolate? Without asking? Oh you are the man of my dreams." She said, her mouth watering as she threw the covers back and got out of bed.

She showered and dressed. As she left she grabbed the coffee and doughnut to take with her. Oddly enough she felt energized not tired after her night of passion with Jareth. Like electricity was zinging around inside of her body.

She climbed into her car and made to drive to the work site, smiling and singing to Bowie playing on the radio. She ate her delicious doughnut and drank her coffee, thinking of him.

She was a few miles away from the site when it happened. She saw an animal on the road up ahead and pressed on the brake to slow down.

Nothing. A fear grew as she pumped the brakes and she just kept on careening down the bumpy road. She swerved and missed the furry thing, but in doing so her car slid down into the ditch at the side of the road, stopping only when obstructed.

Her heart pounding with fear she climbed out of the car and up to the roadway, shocked. The front of the car took the most damage, and she figured it was probably undriveable. "Thank goodness I got the insurance." She said, wondering what she should do.

It was closer to go to the work site than back to town, and O'Donnell had a phone set up there. She grabbed her bag out of the car and set to walking. Almost 45 minutes later she arrived hot and dusty from her trek.

"Where the hell have you been Williams!" The professor bellowed."If you can't take this job seriously maybe you should just go home!"

"I'm so sorry...I was on my way...my car, the brakes failed and I ended up in a ditch down the way. I need to call a towtruck." She answered, hoping he would let her off the hook this once.

His jaw clenched but he backed off. "Fine. Use the phone. Make it quick."

She called and gave the service her information. They would take it to a shop and get back to her at the inn later.

She went to work, a bit battered from being jostled around in the car, but otherwise she felt okay except for the leftover nerves of the brake failure.

She worked as well as she could in the pit but her hands were shaking.

"Sarah, I just heard what happened. Are you okay?" Danny asked as he got down next to her. "I'll give you a ride later if you need me too."

"Thanks I would appreciate that. I probably won't be able to get another car until tomorrow sometime." She answered. "I'm fine, just a little frayed around the edges."

"What about your boyfriend, Jim?" He replied.

"Jay. He had to leave and attend to some business today. He'll be back, later or tomorrow." She answered.

"Oh this is useless." She threw down her trowel in frustration. "I can't even concentrate."

"Well, if you were my woman, I wouldn't leave you alone at all. If something like this happened to my girlfriend I would be right there for her." Danny said pointedly.

"Can't help when something comes up. It just happens." She gave him a sharp look.

He scoffed. "What does John do anyway?"

She rolled her eyes inwardly "Import export. That type of thing."

"He's probably a criminal." Danny said.

Sarah was getting more irritated. "Look, Danny, I know you don't like him, I'm sorry. I really have to try to work, okay?"

He humphed at her and left, Sarah was relieved. She knew he had had a bit of a thing for her in school, but he really needed to move on. Jareth or no Jareth, it wasn't going to happen. Now...she couldn't even imagine being with someone else.

Jareth had once again became the most powerful presence in her life. Except this time he was there, and real. Truthfully he always had been even all those years between then and now.

She shifted and moved earth around, finding a few bits of metal but nothing that seemed significant. It was basically a wasted day as far as she was concerned.

When time was called she was so glad the day was done. It had started out so well and ended up as such crap.

Danny still drove her back to her inn, though he said little. She offered to buy him dinner but he refused.

The mechanic had left a message on her machine saying the car was a loss, the whole front end being bent in and to the side, the axle broken. They had called the rental place and a different car would be driven out to the inn in the morning. They had removed her few belongs that had been in the car and she could pick them up at her convenience.

She dug around and found her prettiest nightie she had packed and ran a bath, wanting to look nice for Jareth. At least she could end her day in his company, she thought.

When she was done she grabbed her book Jareth kept teasing her about and curled up on the bed, but ended up dozing off far too quickly.

A few hours later she woke up, finding Jareth had still not come. Well she thought he hadn't, but on her nightstand sat a crystal.

She picked it up and it popped, sending a puff of glitter in the area. "Oh very funny, Goblin King." She grumbled as she waved it away from her face. In the crystal's place was a piece of paper.

_Something has delayed my return to you, precious. I swear I will return as soon as it is possible. Your Devoted Jareth._

The words made her smile, but sad too. He must have sent it through the door he had been using to come to her. She hoped nothing bad had happened.

Sighing, she laid the paper on the night stand and flipped off the light figuring at least least she would get a good night's sleep.  
_

Underground:

"Enough." Jareth commanded the group of Kin sitting around the table. "We may have the beginning of a crisis on our hands. Mother, please go on." He bowed to woman sitting next to him.

Danu was tall and slender like most of their people, her hair fell in reddish blond waves down her back, her bright blue eyes remaining calm.

"We have seen worse, but we cannot stand by and let anyone open that doorway. They are getting far too close. I knew I should have insisted on it's destruction." She tapped the table with a long elegant finger.

A dark haired man stood up. "My Lady, How could anyone know of this Labyrinth Stone? Even if there are few old stories around above, who would know to look for that in particular? And know what it was?"

"My departed husband's brother Teimhnín."

Jareth was openly surprised. "Are you certain mother? Uncle helped us create the magic to save us."

"Then he disappeared." She answered. "He is the only one of us with enough power to do so besides you or I, my son. He has not been seen or heard from Underground since the closing. AFTER he had been given new form and went back to look for survivors. He was the only one to be able to move through the doorway unassisted besides us. If he stayed above, he could very well be alive. We may not even know him now, Jareth. He has lived among humans for thousands of years. He may be quite changed from the man we once knew."

"Not all humans are bad, Mother." Jareth reminded her.

"You think I do not know this?" She snapped. "Of course they are not all bad. Among them, he would powerful. Power is something that can corrupt so easily. Look what happened to your father."

Jareth opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Danu holding up her hand. "I do not want to speak of that any longer. I did what I had to do. I do not regret it. My heart aches for Conall every day, but I could not let him live."

"Even though in the end the humans turned on us." A woman pointed out from across the table.

"Yes. We were not able to see the future, Áine. Humans are not chattel, slaves or to be hunted for sport. They are sentient beings." Danu answered. "We are done here."

"Mother I need to speak to you privately." Jareth stopped her, letting the others leave and closing the door. "Sarah believes they have found Laoise's bones."

Those words caused his mother to blanch. Her shoulders hunched forward. She grabbed on to a chair until her knuckles were white. "What can we do from here? Laoise is long to The Summerlands. Have they located Maolán?"

"I do not know if they could. He was never given a proper burial. His bones are scattered to the winds."

"How is your Sarah?" she asked. "Is she well?"

"She is." Jareth smiled picturing her.

Danu saw his eyes soften . "Jareth, she is human. I know you care for her. She had been helpful to us. I would grant her all I could in return but you know this will not end well."

"Maybe she would be willing." Jareth's chin came up. "She is brave enough." He said proudly.

"I am sure she is. It is a sacrifice of everyone and everything she knows. I would welcome her if she agreed, but I will not force her, and you cannot either. It is one thing to move away from your family to marry, it is quite another to choose to die and be reborn in another world. Her family would grieve. It is unlikely she would want to cause such pain."

"I love her." He said quietly. "More than anyone I've ever known. Her spirit, her stubbornness. She is my twin flame."

Danu could not help but feel tremendous sympathy for her youngest child. Jareth had always been her rebellious, impulsive  _mac.*_ He had at times walked a thin line between dark and light, but had never crossed it.

This girl had somehow without even trying captured his heart. She was glad to know he was capable of such affection, but on a human woman it was wasted.

"If ultimately she chooses to join us, I will love her as a daughter. Until then, guard yourself." She knew it was futile, that his heart was lost to the girl. As his mother, she had to say it.  
_

Teimhnín stood staring at the shattered remains of his niece. Though found complete, the damage to her bones was obvious, and pre mortem. He felt a twinge of sadness. An emotion he had not felt for a very long time. The years above had worn him down, the humans petty evil and insidious destruction slowly sucking what compassion he had away. Laoise was the first of his blood to fall to them. His brother had been right. Danu had been a fool. This was the result.

He sensed the Williams girl had been marked from day one. He knew Jareth's magic when he felt it. She reeked of him. Especially today. He had claimed her.

Teimhnín had been able to use the boy's body to watch her since he sensed her mark. Her "Boyfriend" has stayed with her the night before, and he had heard the obvious cries of passion.

They were close to finding the stone. Then he could open the door. He saw the coin around the woman's neck. He would remove it by force if necessary. Then he could do what he needed to do. Eliminate his sister in law and nephews and lead his people in destroying the humans who had forced them into exile and killed so many of them.

He zipped the bag with the remains in it closed, and left the tent.  
_

Sarah started at her laptop, feeling a little let down. It had been 3 days with no word from Jareth beyond that initial crystal and the note that first night. She was beginning to get a complex.

What if he had just used her? Maybe he was getting her back for beating him by proving how easy he could seduce her.

Working at the site had been miserable. Danny kept making snide remarks about Jareth, the Professor wouldn't have anything to do with her, and it had rained two days straight when she had been cleaning the area that had fell in, making her space a mudpit.

The last 2 nights she had to put plastic bags over her carseat just to drive back to the inn. She had to spend one evening doing laundry at a nearby laundromat because all her clothes were dirty and wet.

She threw the pen she had been holding down in disgust. "Damn it. Why am I sitting around waiting for some guy? Even an immortal magical one? That is NOT me."

She grabbed one of her 2 nicer dresses, a black jersey sheath that wasn't too tight or revealing but accented her curves nicely. Once she got dressed, she put on a little makeup and her matching black pumps and evening bag, and left.

There was a small pub a couple of blocks down. On weekends they had live music. It seemed fairly lively and the local population in her age group congregated there.

She walked in and several heads turned her way. She ordered a drink and found a barstool.

The band was playing rock music and it had a loud thumping beat. She closed her eyes and swayed, singing the lyrics that she knew.

"Care to dance little lass?" Broke her trance. She opened her eyes to find an attractive auburn haired man of around her age smiling with his hand out.

"Why not?" She answered, downing her alcohol and taking his hand. He turned out to be sweet, funny, and a good dancer.

She found herself having a good time. She wasn't particularly attracted to him, but it felt good to flirt and forget her frustration for a while.

They danced several dances mostly fast but one slow one. He swung her around and it made her dizzy after the strong drink she had. "Whoa." she said as she stumbled a little.

"Maybe we should go sit." Her partner suggested. He guided her to a small table and sat across from her. "What's your name?"

His blue eyes reminded her of Jareth and her good feeling started fading. "Sarah."

He took her hand and kissed it. "Glad to meet ya Sarah, friends call me Charlie. You a tourist?"

She shook her head. "No I'm working over at the dig. I'm an archaeologist."

Charlie whistled. "A smart one, we have here. Ya have lovely eyes, Sarah."

"Thank you, you too." She answered. He had a nice smile and she couldn't help returning it. Then she thought of Jareth and her fears of betrayal returned.  _Where are you?_ she pushed it out of her mind. No. Not going to give him the satisfaction of crying over him.

A hand wrapped around the back of her neck causing her to freeze. Charlie's eyes grew large as he looked on.

The hand moved her hair out of the way, and she felt warm breath on her ear as he spoke. "Hello love. I was going to ask if you missed me, but as I have found you in the company of this nice gentleman, I am assuming you did not?"

She turned to find angry blue eyes looking into hers. "Jar..Uh. Jay. I just needed to get out. That's all. I've been cooped up in that room every night."

Jareth straightened and offered his gloved hand to Charlie. "Good evening. Please allow me to introduce myself. Jay, Sarah's fiance."

Charlie reminded Sarah of a Jack in the Box, with the speed and bounce he got springing up out of his chair. She would have laughed if the situation were anywhere near amusing. "Sorry Mate. I'm Charlie. We were just takin' a spin on the dance floor and a laugh. Wasn't any more than that."

"It is quite alright, Charlie. Thank you for looking after my beloved."

Jareth sat down in the recently vacated chair. his eyes not leaving hers. "Sarah I understand your need for human interaction, truly I do. However, I arrived while you were dancing and he had his hands all over you. He is lucky I did not throttle him."

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "How dare you. I can dance with who I want, when I want, in whatever way I want. You have no power over me, remember?" She provoked.

Jareth closed his eyes to calm himself. They were in public and it was not the place. Sarah was obviously perturbed at his prolonged absence.

"I am leaving. Shall I wait for you in your room so that we may speak, or will you accompany me?"

"I want another drink." She knew she was being unreasonable. She didn't care at this point in time. "Do whatever you want."

She left the table and ordered 2 shots of whiskey and downed them both, then left the pub to walk back to the inn.

She went about a block when she was grabbed by the arm and pulled into a alley, finding herself with her face pressed to a brick wall. "What..what do want. I have a few dollars.." She tried to open her bag.

A voice that was almost a growl spoke. "Shut up. I do not want your money. Just let your boyfriend know, I know who he is and *what* he is, and he would do well to tread carefully."

Sarah was scared to the point she couldn't move. "Please don't..oh God.."

"Don't what? Rape you? I should. But I won't. His scent upon you makes me sick." He reached around and squeezed her breast. Hard. It was incredibly painful and she gasped. "Firm, and full, but no one is that tempting."

Sarah fell on the ground. The man was gone. She picked herself up and crept her way back to the inn.

Her knees were scraped where she had hit the rocky ground, her hand scraped from the bricks and her makeup smudged.

She dug a tissue out of her purse and wiped the blood off and cleaned her face as much as she could before she arrived, then dashed through small lobby and up the stairs trying to avoid anyone.

She unlocked her room her hands shaking so hard the key kept slipping.

Once she was inside she locked the door and leaned against it. Her hot angry tears smeared her makeup further.

"Sarah?" Jareth was there beside her, turning her. Seeing her terrorized face, smeared make up and the scrape on her hand, his worry turned to ire and more than a little fear.

"What happened!" He demanded. "Tell me!"

She pushed past him and sat in the desk chair.

Jareth took a few deep breaths. "Tell me, did that boy you were dancing with hurt you? Did he..."

"NO!" Sarah answered. "I mean. No. Charlie didn't do anything to me. It was someone else."

She noticed her breast was throbbing. It was probably bruised. "And he didn't rape me."

"Who? Sarah you must not keep this from me." Jareth was in front of her, kneeling. He saw her scraped knees and he felt the desire to kill.

"I don't know. He said..he knew who you were, and what you were, and that you better be careful. Then he let me go." She was still shaking, badly. Her teeth chattering. "I'm going to be sick." She said and ran to the bathroom, her stomach rolling.

Jareth stood and stared out the window, his jaw clenching. He could hear Sarah retching in the closed bathroom. His mother had been right. Who else would know who he was? Be able to sense him around Sarah. Only his uncle would know. Which meant he was nearby and searching for something. Most likely the stone.

Sarah washed her face and flushed the toilet. She didn't even care Jareth was there. She left the bathroom, stripped off her clothes and naked except for her panties got a night shirt out of the drawer.

"Turn, Sarah." Jareth commanded her. She did.

He walked to her and lifted her arm up. seeing the dark bruising around her breast. "I thought you said he did not assault you."

"I said he didn't rape me. He just grabbed me and squeezed there." She tried to put on her shirt but he stopped her.

She found herself being picked up and laid on the bed, with Jareth looking her over rather closely. It was making her uncomfortable. "What are you doing? I'm cold."

He removed his gloves and touched her breast, which made her flinch as it was tender but he held her fast. "Stay. Let me work."

She watched him lay his fingers on her bruised flesh, and was amazed to see the bruising recede as if he was pulling it inside of himself. She felt tingly where he was touching her skin. He did the same to each knee, then he gestured for her to give him her hand, and he healed that too.

When he was done he pulled her into a sitting position and urged her to hold her arms up, sliding her shirt over her head and pulling it down her body.

After he pulled the covers over her still shaking body, he cupped her face and kissed her. "You should sleep. You have had quite a shock. I will stay with you." He changed into a pair of loose pants of some soft material and climbed into bed, positioning her on her side and wrapping himself around her.

"I will protect you. Now sleep." He stroked her forehead and temples. She found herself instantly sleepy and yawned.

"You put a spell on me didn't you? She asked as she drifted off.

"Yes. No more talk. I have shielded your dreams as well so you will not be disturbed."

She was already in a deep sleep.

He refused to give in to his desire to join her. He stayed there all night, listening, watching, making sure his Sarah was safe.

That for one night, she was where she belonged. Secure in his arms.


	7. Chapter 7

Sarah once again woke to the phone ringing. She pushed away the arms around her and snatched up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Miss Williams." The voice of Professor O'Donnell said brusquely. "You have the day off. I am bringing in a crew to pump water out of the pit area. Be in early tomorrow, no later than 8am!"

Then he hung up.

Sarah stuck her tongue out at the phone. "Good morning to you too asshole." She mumbled as she hung up the receiver.

"Did you sleep well?" Jareth said from beside her. She had almost forgotten he was there.

"Oh..yeah. Yes. I did. Thank you...for everything last night." She blushed.

"What is it?" He asked, noticing her embarrassed face.

"It's just..it was my fault. I was mad because you hadn't come back. I got these crazy thoughts in my head, so I went out to that pub. Then I picked a fight with you because I was irritated and if I hadn't I wouldn't have been walking alone."

Jareth sat up and turned her to face him, gently tipping her face up with the tips of his fingers. "Regardless of your actions, being attacked was not your fault. You mortal women seem to get it into your heads that acting like a normal female pursuing perfectly acceptable activities, like having fun and enjoying yourselves, gives others license to assault you. It does not. It is the fault of the attacker. Every single time."

"Heh..who would have thought, Jareth the Goblin King sounds like a feminist PSA." Sarah laughed.

He tilted his head, a bit puzzled by her statement.

"Never mind, too much to explain." She waved it off. She went to turn away but he grabbed her arm. "Now about these so called crazed thoughts, what were they? We need to address this as it caused your behavior last night."

"It was stupid." Sarah answered, reluctant to tell him. He said nothing but gestured for her to continue, his brow raised in expectation.

She half expected him to tell her not to defy him. He wasn't going to let it go, this much she could tell, so she gave in.

"I thought maybe you...seduced me to get back at me. For winning. Beating you at the Labyrinth. You know, so you could prove you could get power over me."

Jareth's hands wrapped around her upper arms. "Sarah. That is untrue. I would never do that. Not to you. You know how much I care for you. You are more important to me than anyone, or anything in this world or mine." His eyes bore into hers, making sure she could see the truth in them. "If I have to take my leave from you, it is only to attend to my duties or deal with rather..urgent issues. If you truly have need of me, you know what to say so I will hear."

"I wish?" Sarah replied, a smile forming on her lips as she looked up at him.

He tapped her nose, then kissed her. "Exactly."

His grip loosened so she turned and got out of bed. She started walking to the bathroom, pulling her nightshirt over her head. Then she looked over her shoulder at him. She knew he would be watching her nearly naked body. Giving her bottom a wiggle she winked at him. "Aren't you coming? I need a shower and need someone to scrub my back."

He got out of bed and followed, grinning from ear to ear. "You are rather wanton my girl."

Sarah turned on the shower to warm the water and once it was the perfect temperature, got in.

As she stood under the spray she felt his warm body press against her back.

"Sarah..you are a resplendent in the morning." he said his lips to her ear. His erection was obvious as he was up against her. She grabbed soap and a bath sponge and handed them to him. "Get to work."

A sexy rumbling laugh made her shiver. "As you wish." A moment later the sponge was gliding over her arms, back and behind, down her legs over each foot. Then it came around front and was being stroked up the front of her legs, up her belly, then circled each breast. Her hair was lifted out of the way, the sponge making a circle around her neck and shoulders. She stepped forward and rinsed the soap off, turning.

Jareth kneeled, placed his hands on her hips and pulling her towards him. He pushed at her thigh so she spread her legs, and he made delicate strokes against her sensitive flesh with the sponge. He kissed and licked her stomach and barely touched her sex with his tongue, looking up at her the whole time.

Sarah felt her knees weaken at his touch, the look in his eyes so reverent.

His gaze became wicked as he observed her reactions to his strokes. He laid the sponge aside and used one finger to part her slick flesh.

"Spread your legs and lean against the wall." He commanded. She did. Then he was there. His tongue flicking her bundle of nerves, making her legs shake as her whole body felt as if it was electrically charged. After a few minutes he lifted her leg over his shoulder to get better access.

It didn't take long for her body to tense then release as her climax washed over her. He helped to keep her from sliding to the tile floor, as the water rained down over both of them.

He rose and kissed his way to her face, assaulting her mouth with his own. She pulled her mouth away from his and looked at him. His face beautiful without all the markings, his hair soaked and dripping. He looked like a water god come to life. In some ways she supposed he was very godlike to humans like her..but not her. To her he was just Jareth...an immortal man yes, but still a man. The man she loved.

On top of everything, the one thing that made her heart feel so full, her thoughts drifting to ask how in the world he could be here with her, was he was looking at her with a desire that shook her to her soul. Just raw naked need. For her.

"Don't make me wait. I need you inside me. Now." Sarah said, her voice husky. She wanted to give him everything.

He smirked and lifted her up to wrap her legs around his slim waist. She hooked her ankles and held tight as he pulled away from her, his hand going between them to guide himself into her.

He entered slowly, and as soon as he was fully impaled he grabbed grabbed the outside of her thighs, then began to move. Picking up speed and intensity until he was pistoning his hips so hard Sarah's behind was slapping against the wall with every thrust.

Sarah had her arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life. He was like a beast. She loved every minute of it. The way he made her feel. It was the most intense feeling she had ever known.

Jareth used his head to nudge hers up then covered her mouth with his, mimicking the movements of his body below. Sarah could barely breath with the intensity of the passion he was giving her.

Her orgasm slammed into her like a freight train, so sudden she hadn't prepared for it, her whole body tensed and jerked as she cried out for him. A moment later he let go, joining her, her body grabbing on to him and not letting him free until he was spent.

Slowly they slid to the floor of the shower, their arms and legs tangled together, water still running over their entwined bodies.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, silently holding each other. He kissed her shoulder, then turned his face so it was laying in the crook of her neck.

"Now I need to get clean again." Sarah said to break the quiet, brushing his hair out of his face.

"Where did that sponge go?" He joked, looking around. Finding it he got the soap and lathered it up again. "Shall we start over?"

They both laughed as he stood and pulled her up with him. They washed each other and shampooed quickly then got out of the shower as the water was starting to cool.

After they dried each other off Jareth flicked his hand and was dressed, his hair dry, his markings in place.

Sarah chose to dress in a more conventional fashion, though he did offer to dress her. She slid into her underwear, jeans and a tshirt as he laid back against the headboard on the bed and watched, content.

"What are your plans for the day, love?" He asked as he admired her curves. He reached out and cupped a cheek of her bottom playfully. She reached back and tapped it, as if to scold him.

"Behave, you. I'm going to go check out that museum. Would you like to glamour yourself and come with?"

"I would much rather stay here and divest you and I both of our clothing again." He rolled his wrist and a crystal appeared. After looking into it for a few minutes he rolled it the other way and it was gone. "It seems I have nothing pressing."

"How come you can't just go anywhere and appear anywhere?" Sarah asked.

"The door that you opened leads only to your vicinity, maybe within a few hundred feet of you I can appear without the power of the wish, but no more. Beyond that it is closed to me."

Sarah thought about that as she put on her socks and shoes. "So basically, unless someone gets wished away, I'm the only other person you can appear to, or for. You know what I mean."

"Precisely. You were given the power to wish for me when you won The Labyrinth challenge. The door you opened gives me enough power to come to you with or without it."

She smiled and did a sexy walk towards him. "Soo.." She sat in his lap. "You're like my personal boy toy."

He pushed his hips up against her. "I am no boy, Sarah. As you well know. Now unless you want to remove your garments, stay in bed with me all day and let me fuck you senseless repeatedly, we had best get started."

She got up so he could stand. Within seconds he was no longer The Goblin King. He was dressed in tight black jeans, a black shirt and a leather jacket, with black leather boots. His hair was back to shoulder length and shaggy and his eyebrows, ears normal, his markings gone again.

"Damn you look hot as a human." Sarah observed, letting out a low whistle. "You know you kind of look like..Well, no matter, You wouldn't know he was anyway."

"Someone you know?" Jareth asked, a possessive look in his eyes.

"No. God no. He's famous here in the above. A singer. I'll play you some of his music sometime. Anyway, let's go."

She interlaced her fingers with his and led him out of the room. After locking it they walked down the stairs and through the small lobby.

"Miss Williams." The clerk, Mr. O'Malley, waved her over. "If you are having another person stay here we need to know."

Oops. Sarah grimaced. "Well see Mr. O'Malley, he is my fiance. He just came to stay with me for a few days. Is that okay?"

Mr. O'Malley looked over his glasses at her, then at Jareth. "It's fine, as long as ya tell me. Need to fill out the register." He sat the book up in front of. "Under your name there. You have identification?" He addressed the last question to Jareth.

Sarah had not thought of that. She was about to try and make up some excuse when Jareth pulled out a wallet and handed the clerk and identification card. "Jay Williams." He said smoothly. She turned and gave him an incredulous look. He just gave her that "completely innocent of any wrongdoing" expression he was so good at.

The man at the desk stopped and looked at them both. "Thought you were just engaged."

Sarah spoke up. "Yeah, kind of funny. We both have the same last name. Pretty common really."

"Mmm hhhmmm." The clerk answered as he looked from the card to Jareth.

"Fine Fine." He handed the card back and Sarah let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. "No more than few days though, or going to have to charge you more."

They turned to leave when he stopped her again. "Also, got a complaint about noise this morning. Keep it down you two. This is family place. Not concerned with what you do, but quiet down."

Sarah turned bright red and looked at Jareth who had the hugest grin she had ever seen.

"Sorry." Sarah said, grabbing Jareth and pulling him out the door.

Sarah was still blushing as she led him down the street to the car, while he laughed quietly at her the whole way.

"Oh Sarah, you are incredibly amusing. Humans are so prudish about these sort of things." She unlocked the passenger door and practically shoved him inside, then went around the other side and got in. "Buckle up." She said, irritated.

"Please clarify that?" Jareth asked. Sarah reached across him and grabbed the seat belt, bringing it over and locking him in place. "That. It's called a seat belt. It keeps you from flying out of the car if we have an accident."

"That is an unnerving bit of information." He answered.

She turned to car on and pulled onto the street. The small museum was on the other side of the bridge a few miles, the town being rather spread out.

"It will only take about 10 minutes to get there." She said as she drove. Looking over at Jareth, she saw he was rather green. "You okay?"

"I am unused to this sort of conveyance. I have seen them of course, I know what cars are. I have to say, hurling yourself down the road in a metal box is not an activity I find amusing." He answered, his gloves squeaking against the leather interior as he gripped it tightly.

"Here, listen to music." She flicked on the radio in time to hear the beginning of the opening strains of the piano on one of her favorite songs. "This is the singer I was talking about."

Jareth tilted his head and listened closely for a few minutes. "Is there life where? Mars?"

Sarah tried to figure out how to explain it to him. She knew he was incredibly smart but maybe his people didn't know about planets.

"It's the name of a star in the sky. Like earth but not habitable by humans."

"Ahh. A planetary body. Yes. We have different names for them. I understand. If it is not habitable why is he asking?"

"It's just a metaphor. Like..is anybody out there listening..I think. " Sarah replied. "He writes in a metaphors a lot. This is weird."

"What is weird?" He asked.

"Talking to you about famous human musicians. And Mars. It's surreal." She shook her head. "We're almost there. See I took your mind off of the ride."

She pulled up in front of a small building and turned off the engine. She unlocked her seat belt and his then got out, waiting for Jareth to climb out of the passenger side and close the door, then hit the button to lock the doors.

Jareth opened the museum door for Sarah, gesturing for her to go first. The door closed behind them with a loud thud startling them both.

There were 3 rooms and they were not very well lit. Sarah looped her arm around Jareth's feeling uneasy.

"Hello?" Sarah called.

"Just a minute." A female voice called. A couple of minutes later a salt and pepper haired lady, looking to be in her 50's came around a corner. "Good day. Canna help ya?"

Sarah smiled at her. "Yes. I am working over at the dig and someone told me you have a book here, an old one with old stories. I was wondering if I could see it?"

"Name is Dinah. Course ya can. It's in here." She led the way to the back room. They followed her looking around at various pictures, artifacts and random bits about historical events celebrating the area's long history.

"Ah! Here ya go lass. Now put these on." She handed Sarah some gloves. Sarah knew the drill and slipped them on. These old tomes were fragile and the oil on human skin would damage hem.

She handed Jareth a pair too, but he hesitated to change his leather gloves for the latex ones. "I will put them on if I decide to touch it. Otherwise I will let Sarah do the honors and I will read beside her." He told Dinah.

"Well.." Dinah gushed. "Aren't ya a charmer. Handsome too, that one." she told Sarah, winking. "I'll leave ya alone."

Sarah carefully opened the old book. The leather was cracked and the sheepskin pages barely legible.

Sarah could pick out words but she new Jareth could read it perfectly, so she moved to the side and turned pages as he read.

It wasn't very long maybe 25-30 pages. It didn't take them long to go all the way through it.

"Start at the beginning again." Jareth said, an odd look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked him.

"You told me this professor of yours said I was mentioned here. Yet I find no words in the book that refers to me specifically. Some vague allusions to a magical race, that is all."

Maybe someone tore the page out." Sarah pointed out. They went though the book again page by page and word by word and found no evidence of a missing page or of Jareth.

After an hour, Dinah came back into the room. "Find what yer lookin' for?" She asked them kindly.

"Not really. What did Professor O'Donnell say about it when he was here? Did he mention what he found?"

Dinah scowled at her. "That bloody man. As foul a man as I've even met. He looked at it near twice as long as ya both did. Grumbled and hissed at me like a snake after."

Sarah took a notepad out of her purse and wrote down her name and contact information. "If you find anything you might thing is relevant to this book, can you let me know?"

The lady took the paper from her. "Sure thing, lass."

"Is this is the only book like this?" Jareth moved past Sarah to approach the woman. When he got close the elderly woman gasped and stepped back, staring at him.

"Y...y..yes. Now, I gotta close up. Ya both need ta leave."

She practically shoved Sarah out the door but avoided even touching Jareth.

When they were back outside Sarah looked back and saw the woman peeking through the curtains. Staring at Jareth. When she saw Sarah looking at her she pulled it shut.

Sarah looked at Jareth, bewildered. "That was odd. I wonder what happened."

"Let us go, Sarah." Was all Jareth said. They got in the car and turned around going back the other way.

"We can grab something to eat and go back to the inn. I will do some more internet research. There has to be something. The lady..she acted so strange at the end. What do you think got into her?" Sarah wondered.

"She may have sensed my inhumanness. This land, these people, their beliefs are deeply ingrained. Many of them believe strongly in those old legends. They have no doubts that Fae exist. That is what they would see me as after all." Jareth answered.

Sarah thought about it."So humans can see you for what you really are, if they are what..psychic?"

Jareth shrugged."Not necessarily clairvoyant. Sometimes all you have to do is believe and no one can keep you from seeing if you really want to. If your eyes are open to it. These lands are full of people who are, you know."

They drove the rest of the way in silence. When they got to the inn Sarah went and ordered some sandwiches and grabbed a couple of bottles of water while Jareth went to the room.

When Sarah got there he was back in his normal clothing reading a scroll of some sort, lounging across the bed.

"What's that?" Sarah asked him as she handed him a sandwich.

"I took a quick trip to my castle and this was waiting for me. My mother tells me my brother has arrived for the far lands, and we will all meet tomorrow."

"Is he like you? I would like to hear about your family. Your brother and mother." Sarah said as she took a bite of her sandwich. She was starving.

"Deaglán would tell you he is nothing like me. He is my eldest brother, and being so takes it upon himself to play the role of father. We do not have a great deal in common. The most I could say is we share a mutual respect. He is king of the kingdom that is farthest from myself. He was married before I was born. He has 2 children of blood, therefore holds a great deal of influence and is highly revered." He picked up the sandwich Sarah had handed him and took a small bite. Finding it palatable, he kept eating.

Sarah smirked. "Hope his wife is too. Considering she gave birth to them."

Jareth swallowed the bite he had been chewing and let out a small laugh. "Saorla. She is quiet, noble. Would never claim to be the stronger of the two. She fought as a warrior in the war carrying a child in her womb. She is a hero among our people. They are a good match. I believe that is the secret of being able to conceive among us. A good strong match."

"That reminds me..Jareth..I was wondering...well, I'm taking birth control, but we've been having unprotected sex and I want to be careful not to conceive. I'm not sure how that works you being magical and all that." She had been meaning to approach the subject but was a bit shy about it.

"I have taken care of that on my side with magic, Sarah. It would best if you did not. I am unsure of what would be the result of that happening." He replied.

"A baby would be the result, Jareth." She joked. The look of longing that passed over Jareth's face made the smile on her face fade quickly.

A picture of Sarah heavily pregnant with his child flashed through Jareth's head, leaving a surge of emotion behind. It would be best if he did not think of such a thing.

"I'm aware of that." He snapped. Then regretted his tone. "I am sorry. I know. I just do not know what would to happen to a child of Kin born in the human world. He or she would only be safe in mine, nourished by magic, and you would have to be...left behind. That would not be fair for you."

Sarah looked down at the half sandwich she had not eaten yet, and her appetite fled. "I never thought of that. I guess I wouldn't be allowed to go there huh." Suddenly she felt incredibly sad.

This situation was impossible.

She put the rest of her sandwich in the small refrigerator and grabbed small bottle of whisky, making herself a drink."This whole thing is just stupid. I'm torturing myself. You, we are torturing each other. How can we be together? We are just playing house in this room. How can this end well?"

"My mother said the same thing." Jareth said quietly.

"Your mother is pretty damn smart." Sarah downed the drink in her hand.

Jareth was behind her, holding her. "I need to tell you something. I was not going to. There is one way. Please hear me out. I am not suggesting it, but I feel you should know you could make the choice to come to my world and leave yours behind. You would have to make the same sacrifice I had to make. What we all had to make, to do so."

Sarah replayed everything Jareth had told her. "I would have to...die here." She said. "To everyone, my family, friends, I would be effectively deceased. They would never know I wasn't dead, would they?"

Jareth kissed her head and hugged her. "It would be for the best. You would not be able to come back. Knowing you're alive would just mean heartache for them. If they thought you were dead, they would grieve and move on with their lives."

"I don't know if I can do that, Jareth." Sarah told him sadly.

"I know. My mother said not to tell you, but..I have to. No matter what you choose, I need you to know life with me is an option."

"Can't we just keep doing this?" Sarah asked hopefully. "It's nice. We can be together wherever I'm at."

Jareth turned her, and cupped her face. "It would not be fair. I could give you nothing you should have. A husband, a family, the life you deserve. I would only be a phantom drifting through your life. As much as it pains me to say the next part...someday I *must* marry. Attempt to have children. Give my kingdom a queen. I cannot put these duties off forever. I wish nothing more than for you to be that woman. I love you more than words could ever say. I always have and I always will. You will forever own my heart...always be my twin flame. We need be reasonable at how this is going to go. I want you to be happy, not miserable because of me. I love you far too much for that."

Sarah stared at him as he spoke, tears forming and falling, running down her cheeks and over his fingers. He loved her. Of course, deep down she knew it was true. Always had been true. But he was right. If she made the choice to stay in the human world, they would have to part. They both deserved to have a real life, not just be hanging on to something that could never be more than it was now.

"I love you too." She confessed. "Let me think about this, okay? Please..don't leave me yet. Will you be with me until I go home. at least? A few more weeks? We can enjoy each other for that long?"

He nodded. "Even after, if you need me, I will always be there for you for all of your life."

He wiped her ears from her face.

Sarah took his hands and pulled him with her to the bed. "Let's spend the rest of the day right here." She said, lifting her shirt over her head, then reaching out to unbutton his.

Jareth agreed readily.

They spent the rest of the day and night wrapped in each others arms, cherishing every second of the precious time they had together.


	8. Chapter 8

Jareth woke early. He made no move to get out of the bed he was in, wrapped around Sarah as he was. He went over the day before in his mind. The museum, his conversation with Sarah.

Being with her, sharing her bed, it was something he never dreamed would happen. There was a part of him that wished it never had. For now he could not imagine a future with anyone but her, but he dared not dream of that. It was impossible unless she chose it. He would be better off just being in the here and now, and leaving it behind when she was gone. Letting her find a human man to share her life, marry, have children.

The thought of another man in her bed, touching her, loving her...it made him want to tear the man apart, and he didn't even exist yet. Sarah was  _his._ He was also hers he knew now. It was a heady thought. This is what was supposed to be. He could not force her. The only thing theoretically he could do would be to take her life...that was abhorrent and she would hate him then. So he would have to accept what came. Go on without her if need be.

Jareth could only say one thing for certain. He would never love another as he loved her. Thousands of years of existence told him that much.

He had been betrothed twice. He had not gone through with either marriage for the simple fact he knew those women weren't right for him. They may have had many fine qualities and he cared for them both, but each time before the marriage could be undertaken, he knew. She was out there, somewhere.

Then, Sarah. He had not been certain until they had danced in her enchanted dream world. Usually he would not have even stepped into a runner's dream. She had looked so stunning, he had to. He needed to dance with her. When she broke away he had been crushed. Then he got angry at her defiance. How dare she refuse him at every turn!

In the end he convinced himself he was losing his mind, shoved her memory away. Denying what he knew to be true. Then, she had opened the door. Once again she turned his world upside down.

He gazed down at her sleeping face, and sighed. My Sarah. What am I going to do with you? He thought.

He needed to get up and dressed. He had to meet with his brother shortly and he frankly just did not want to leave Sarah alone. He worried for her safety. Something odd was going on down at that site, and now he knew someone knew who he was and that he was connected to her.

"Fuck." Jareth said as he sat up. He moved the blankets and flung his legs over the side. He stood and in a thought, was clean and dressed.

Instead of just leaving he went around the other side of the bed and shook Sarah's bare shoulder. "My love."

Sarah opened one eye and looked up at him. "What's going on?"

Jareth bent down and kissed her forehead. "I need to go. Since the last time you were distressed, I chose to wake you and tell you. I have a meeting to attend."

She nodded, turning over. The blanket slipped down to reveal the lovely sight of her naked upper body.

"Come back soon." She reached up and ran her fingers across his face. He captured her hand and kissed it, too.

"I promise. I love you."

A smiled ghosted across Sarah's face as she closed her eyes, still sleepy. "Love you too."  
_

Jareth appeared in the Goblin Castle, flustered. "Your Majesty!" One of his aides rushed to his side. "Your brother is here and waiting for you in your study."

Jareth inclined his head. "I had hoped to beat him here. No matter now. Bring us tea, Olan." The aide bowed and went to do as Jareth told him.

He walked to his office and opened the door, expecting a fight. Surprisingly Deaglán was sitting next to the fireplace reading and not pacing impatiently.

"Brother." Jareth greeted him stiffly.

"Ah. Jareth. About time. Off dallying with the human girl Mother told me about?"

"I was not dallying. Sarah is very special to me and not some form of stress relief. I'll thank you to not speak of her in such a manner." He went to sit behind his desk.

"Jareth, you have always been so...contrary. Why does everything you do have to be against all we have built here? Must you always be such a fool?" Deaglán answered, sitting across from him.

He continued. "A human? Really? I'm sure she is a lovely thing, sweet, giving. There is no future there. No children. Within 50 years, 70 at the outside, she will be gone and you will have nothing but heartache. Find yourself a woman of The Kin. Marry, do the right thing. For all of us. You must play your part is ensuring the future of us all. Your blood is strong, you would have a better than fair chance of reproducing with the right female."

Jareth got more and more angry as his brother talked. He had just had this conversation with Sarah but hearing it from his brother made him feel disagreeable. "I know my duties. Brother. Sarah needs my help, my protection. She is *MY* champion. Even if I did not love her, I would still be bound to help her."

"Love her? Oh Jareth, The Great Owl King, Lord of The Labyrinth, Goblin King, how the mighty have fallen. You who vowed to never lose your heart to a woman. Felled by a simple human girl. I am amused." Deaglán smirked at him and sat back.

Jareth frowned. "There is nothing simple about Sarah. Nothing at all. Do you think I do not know all of this? I spoke of it with her just last night. She understands. We will enjoy each other's company for as long as she walks the ancient land. When she goes home, we will part. I know what has to be done."

"You say that now, until it is 6 months later and your poor Sarah is crying over some human foolishness and she cries for you. You will go to her and it will start again." Jareth's brother replied.

Jareth pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is it that you want? If it is just to berate me, you may leave."

Deaglán leaned forward. "We have things to discuss. Mother told me of the trouble above."

Just then a servant arrived with tea, pouring them each a cup and bowed low before leaving.

"Then let us discuss, dear brother." Jareth answered, picking up his cup and waiting to hear what the man had to say.  
_

Sarah arrived at the dig smiling. She got her tool bag and hopped out of the car. As she walked through the site she waved and greeted everyone. Reaching the pit she climbed down, not even minding that it was still rather muddy.

Who cares? She thought. I am well and truly loved and in love. Even if it's for a few weeks, I'm going to enjoy it.

She worked for several hours, finding bone fragments and some strange twisted pieces of burnt metal. She set those aside to examine later. At noon she stopped for a bit to climb out of the area and fetch a sandwich and bottle of water, then went back.

She felt truly happy for once in her life, and it wasn't because of her job. As she worked she thought about it.

She had a bad childhood, her mother not really taking to being one. When Linda finally left she had been devastated. Then her father remarried.

Soon after her father and Karen had Toby. She sure hadn't appreciated him until after she had ran The Labyrinth. Even after, though she adored him, he was a baby and she a teenager. She enjoyed her time with him but it wasn't his place in life to make her happy after all.

Then she  had her problems, and Karen had been there for her. For that she was grateful.  
  
Her father had wanted to throw her out of the house to go live with her mother, who certainly didn't want her, but Karen stood firm. Karen had supported her, was instrumental in getting Sarah into a good program to overcome her addiction, had been the one to drive her and visited her faithfully.  
  
Turned out Sarah was so wrong about the woman, and was glad of it.

After that she went to college and grad school. By the time that was done Toby hardly knew her. She moved to New York. Mostly she went to school, worked and slept. She hardly ever dated and really never wanted to. She had only one boyfriend of note in college, who took her virginity and was gone from her life a few months later.

In the back of her mind he had always been there. She realized that now. He never stopped being a part of her. No matter what that would never change.

As she worked she started to feel an uncomfortable sensation between her breasts. At first it was an itch, but as she worked, she noticed it felt rather warm there. She looked around to make sure no one was looking and pulled the top of her shirt out so she could look down.

Where the coin on it's chain lay was a red mark. She touched the coin and it was hot. "Wow. That's odd. I'll have to ask Jareth about it later. I must be allergic to the metal." She said. She took it off her neck and stuck it in her pocket.

A few minutes later someone called down into the pit telling the workers to come up, that the day was done.

She climbed the ladder and grabbed a hose and rinsed off her tools, then packed them away in their bag.

She practically skipped to her car, got in and drove off singing to the radio.  
_

Teimhnín watched the human girl as she so happily left the site. He growled low in his throat. "I should have taken her in that alley. She would have been devastated and too damaged to let Jareth touch her further." He said to himself.

The boy came up behind him. "What do you want me to do next, Master?"

"Nothing. You have been of little use to me so far, I do not have confidence you will be successful in the future. I damaged her car so that you could spend more time with her, but you were too much of an idiot to take advantage of it. Leave me."

He turned to see the boy wander off, dejected. He felt nothing but scorn. Stupid human.  
_

Sarah picked up some food and went back to the inn, excited to see Jareth. When she got into the room she was a bit disappointed he wasn't waiting for her, but knew he would be back.

She ate as she worked on her laptop, typing more of the story of Jareth's people. She had told him she was doing it, and he didn't mind.  
She thought maybe someday she would write a book based upon his stories but keep a few vital details out and crafted as fiction.

She was deep into her writing when two hands were placed upon her shoulders, gently kneading her flesh.

"Oh there you are Larry, I was worried you wouldn't make it in time for our clandestine affairs." She joked.

"This Larry does not value his life." Jareth growled in her ear, making her giggle.

"I couldn't resist." She turned and looked up at him.

He picked her up and sat down, holding her in his lap.

"Tease The Goblin King will you. I will be forced to punish you for your insolence." He tipped her backwards and gave her a noisy kiss.

Sarah pushed at him and stood up. "Mmm..maybe I'll give you a lap dance to make it up to you."

She straddled him and rubbed herself on his lap, feeling him respond.

His brow rose. "I am not familiar with this tradition, but I wholeheartedly approve." He grabbed her bottom and squeezed as she rocked herself against him.

He nuzzled his face between her breasts then stopped. "Sarah...where is the coin? You did not lose it did you?" He sounded slightly alarmed.

"No, I swear." She reached into her pocket and pulled it out. "I was wearing it, and it started itching and burning my skin. I think I'm allergic."

Sarah found herself pushed off of his lap as he flew to his feet. "When did this happen?" He demanded.

"I was was working in the pit today and as I was digging and shifting dirt, I started to feel itchy and warm where the coin was against my skin. I looked and my skin was red so I took it off and put it in my pocket, why?"

"You need to go back. Tonight. When you get there call me to you and I will help." He gripped her shoulders and told her frantically, his eyes ablaze with emotion.

Sarah was concerned by the look on Jareth's face. "What is it? The gate is locked so I'll have to sneak in..but you need to tell me why."

"The coin is the key to the stone. It was being activated. Which means the stone was very near you when this happened, within several feet at most." Jareth started pacing. "Sarah we need to go! Now!"

"Alright alright, we'll go. But if I get in trouble for this.." Sarah started.

"You do not understand. if my uncle gets a hold of that stone, and unlocks the magic...well who knows what he will do!" His voice was rising.

Sarah changed back into jeans and a t-shirt, throwing her sweatshirt over it as it would be chilly.

She got her boots on as fast as she could, with Jareth practically climbing the walls.

"Come on!" He prodded her.

"Jareth I am going as fast as I can. I have to be dressed and have my boots on to be able to walk through the mud without slipping." She answered, irritated. She grabbed her bag and turned to him. "It will be less than an hour. Stay here until you hear me call."

She took the stairs two at a time and left the inn, hopping into the car and sped off.

A minute later a car was not far behind, trailing her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a weird realization that this a slight songfic. Unintentional. I listened to DB's Heathen quite a bit when writing it, and it seems to have colored the story in a certain fashion. Funny how that happens with Mr. Jones' work. 12 songs, 12 chapters :)(okay 10 chapters and a double epilogue)


	9. Chapter 9

Sarah noticed the car far back behind her but tried to ignore it. When she turned off the road onto the dirt road that led to the site, it did not follow. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Jareth had not enjoyed riding in the car before, he would have downright miserable considering how fast she was going. She was just glad she didn't get pulled over.

She went as far as she could, which was up to the locked gate. She grabbed her tools and called Jareth.

He appeared before her instantly. "You need to get me in."

He wrapped an arm around her and created a crystal. "Close your eyes."

The world tilted and her stomach protested, but in seconds she was back on solid ground.

She opened her eyes and took a step forward, a little dizzy. "Hang on a second I need to get my bearings. That's a handy trick."

"Magic does have it's advantages. Now, if you are settled we need to do this." Jareth urged.

Sarah took off and raced through the site, Jareth at her side, but letting her lead. She watched the ground so she wouldn't trip in a hole and hurt herself.

She got to the pit and the dark expanse looked terrifyingly ominous. Like a mouth to hell.

Sarah shoved her growing dread aside. She had her flashlight and found the ladder, climbing down and picking her way through to where she had been earlier. Jareth was behind her, holding the coin up and watching it closely.

"Here, I was here." Sarah said. She got on her knees and began carefully digging.

"Go faster." Jareth said, impatience coloring his voice.

"Jareth, I'm an archaeologist, it's against my nature to just throw dirt over my shoulder. Hang on."

As she worked, using her trowel and her fingers to move the wet earth, it started to sprinkle.

"Wonderful. Shit." She grumbled. She flipped the hood on her sweatshirt up. She hadn't even put on her gloves.

Look." Jareth breathed behind her. She turned and saw the coin on it's chain begin to glow. "We are close!"

Sarah gave up pretense and just dug through the muck that was forming. A few minutes later she hit something hard.

"You could help here you know." She told him.

He dropped the chain around her neck and dug into the dirt, helping her clear whatever it was Sarah had hit.

She found an edge and pulled, falling backward as the thing gave way.

In her hands was a round stone, maybe 8 inches wide side to side each way.

She sat back up and worked at cleaning the dirt away. It had grooves in it.

"Come on." She told Jareth. She climbed out of the pit and turned on one of the hoses, washing away the dirt. As layers of it fell away, the carving of The Labyrinth was revealed. In the middle was a slot which the coin would fit in exactly.

They looked at each other with relief. "Now I'll go get my tools and we can get out of here."

"Not so fast Sarah." Danny came out of the darkness holding a small handgun. He looked at Jareth and a brief look of confusion crossed his face but disappeared. "Nice getup. Going to a costume party?"

"Danny..I can explain. See the stone is..." Sarah began. Danny cocked the gun and she stopped.

"You do not want to do that boy." Jareth said. As his hands were bare he could not touch the thing. It was clearly iron.

"Don't I? I'm a man, not a boy. That stone belongs to my master and you won't take it. He has worked for years to get permission to search this site. He told me about you Sarah. You were trying to steal from him. Take the glory for yourself."

"Your Master?" Sarah was confused. "Professor O'Donnell?"

Someone appeared in the darkness behind him. "Teimhnín, dear. You may call me that now."

He walked to stand beside Danny, his own gun in his gloved hand. All he did was stare at Jareth. "Greetings dear nephew. It has been far too long since I have looked upon one of my people."

"Uncle why are you doing this? You know no good can come of opening this door. If you want to go underground, simply ask and I will gladly take you." Jareth reasoned.

As Sarah watched, O'Donnell dropped his glamour. His hair lengthened to just past his shoulders and darkened, and his gray eyes were an inhuman silver. Markings similar to Jareth's appeared, his brows tilted upwards, his ears developing the subtle pointing, his teeth sharp. He was still dressed in khakis and denim shirt, which made it all seem off kilter.

"Fuck the underground." He spat. "I want our lands back. I want my people back. These filthy vermin stole everything from us, Jareth. Stand with me, help me gather our warriors, We are immortal now. We can take them. Enslave those who comply, kill those who will not. You can even keep your little pet here, for as long as wish. Until she becomes old and ugly, as they all do. Your father was right, you know. You have seen how they have raped this world. How they treat their own."

Jareth hesitated, gauging his uncle's mental state.

" _An rí owl Jar et mac Danu e Conall_." *****  The older man whispered to Jareth.  _"Mo chuid fola. Thar aon daoine eile, is é an chéad fola."_ ******

"Uncle I understand your rage. I once felt that way. Really I did. There is no use in shedding more blood. Those who died are gone. Come and join your family. Deaglán has 2 children now. We are growing again but still too few. We cannot afford the losses that would come with a war with the humans. There are billions now. It is their world." He held out his hands in a peaceful gesture.

O'Donnell's, really Teimhnín's, eyes grew red with fury. Jareth then came to the realisation that his uncle had probably gone completely mad all these years separated from his kin, living among humans, stewing about the past had eaten away any ounce of compassion and love he had ever had.

Sarah took a step towards Jareth, and Danny closed in, pointing his gun at her chest. "Sarah, stay out of this. If you're smart you'll just stand there and be quiet. My master won't harm us."

Teimhnín laughed. Shoving the boy away, which knocked his gun onto the ground."You stupid piece of nothing. I would kill you like stepping on an ant. I used you, marked you, manipulated you with magic. As for her, she is no better. Though it does disgust me my own blood took to caring about a human girl. Of all things. Did we not learn our lessons? Really Jareth? They are little more than mewling chattel."

Jareth out of worry, walked sideways until he was beside Sarah. "This is not about her. Leave her out of this. She is mine to do with as I wish. Do not tell me in all these years here, you did not find the occasional use of a human female necessary."

Sarah's mouth dropped open at his words. "What..what do you mean?"

"Shut up, Sarah." Jareth said. He hoped she would forgive her. If his uncle thought he didn't care, he might be able to save her. If he didn't see her as a weakness for Jareth, he might let her go. "I did what I had to do to save my people." He said loud enough for all to hear. "Even lying with a human. You, uncle, should know I always do my duties. I have claimed her as my property. You have no right to judge my choices."

"Somehow, Jareth, I do not believe you. I think, that you think, you love the girl. Did I use a human now and then? Yes, though it pains me to say it. It was rather unfortunate for them, as none of *my* conquests lived to see another sunrise." Teimhnín said flatly. Like such a thing was a matter of course.

Sarah's blood ran cold. She couldn't even imagine how many women, or humans in general had been murdered by this man.

"Yes..well..you do apparently do not know me well anymore. I care for no woman." He turned and gave Sarah a look of derision so fierce Sarah cringed and took a step back. "She beat my Labyrinth so it was my duty to protect her. So why not use her body? She is fairly attractive."

Jareth's uncle sneered. "Then get the stone and the coin and give them to me, Jareth. I was going to kill both you and your mother, but this way, we can kill Danu together and lead our people. She never answered for her crime of killing my brother. Your own father, Jareth."

"I am telling you Teimhnín, it is NOT possible to win against the humans!" Jareth repeated. "We will just go underground and take the stone, closing the door once and for all, then we will be safe. You know why mother took his life. She was the only one strong enough. He was killing people. He was enjoying it. He grew an insatiable bloodlust."

Teimhnín stepped forward and grabbed Danny by the neck, lifting him up into the air. "Conall was right. They are nothing but mewling, puling animals rutting like pigs, uncaring about even their own wellbeing. You want to save these people? Be safe from these..things? Jareth I could crush him in a second. Look." He started to squeeze Danny's throat. The man flailed helplessly, trying to breathe as his face started turning blue.

"No!" Sarah yelled. "Don't kill him!"

Her heart was broken into a million pieces at Jareth's words, but she couldn't stand by and let Danny be killed. He was obviously a pawn.

"She is right." Jareth agreed. "Put him down."

His uncle let him go and Danny flopped to the ground, almost unconscious. Sarah went to go to him but Teimhnín had his gun in his gloved hand, pointing it at her. "I will kill her then. Your obligation will be over if she is dead."

Jareth moved fast, standing in front of her. "You will not. I will not allow it."

"Then you are a liar. A fool, and a liar. Like your mother. You care for this one. You disgust me Jareth. Do you know what these bullets are made of? Iron. Pure cold iron. I had them custom made in case I had to put you down. I will if necessary. Give me the stone. I'll let you walk away with your human."

Jareth knew he was lying. He could not afford to let any of them live. "I will not. It will be returned to my mother. It is made from her magic."

"Then I am sorry, nephew. Say hello to your sister for me, will you? Sweet Laoise. Perhaps I will give Sarah the same kind of end your dear sister was afforded. Please tell me she is carrying your child Jareth, that would make it so much sweeter. I would kill her first but you would prevent that." He fired.

Except he hadn't counted on Sarah pushing as hard as she could, sending Jareth flying. Even she had not expected such strength.

"No!" She screamed.

Everything moved in slow motion for her. She could see the bullets coming at her but could not move in time to avoid them. Her eyes bulged as the pain exploded in her chest and stomach.

Jareth rolled and sprung into a crouch. He pulled the iron dagger out of his boot and threw it, hitting it's mark the middle of Teimhnín's chest.

His uncle fell backwards.

As soon as Jareth's dagger pierced Teimhnín's heart, the hold he had over Danny was broken. The younger man picked up his gun, which had been loaded with the same bullets, and shot the prone form of Teimhnín laying in the dirt. The man he knew as Professor O' Donnell and he had so admired. He shot until the gun was empty.

If Jareth had not killed Teimhnín now he was well and truly dead. All that iron instantly fatal.

Danny turned to find Jareth cradling Sarah in his arms.

"Sarah..Sarah..no..I cannot heal this..Sarah!" He shook her as he talked, begging her to open her eyes.

"I'll call an ambulance and open the gate." Danny said, rushing to use the phone in one of the tents.

Sarah coughed and choked, blood dribbling from between her mouth. "Jar.." she tried to say.

"Stay with me my love, The boy is fetching human healers. The iron..I cannot heal such a wound." He answered.

She shook her head trying to smile and failing. She managed to reach up and touch his face, just for a second. "Dying...I know...Jareth..love you.." Her eyes closed again.

An idea came to him. He grabbed the stone nearby and placed the coin in it's slot and chanted the words to open the door, surprised he remembered them after so long.

The stone glowed blue and green." _Come to áit a bhfuil mé Danu_." *******

"What has happened here..is that Teimhnín'?" His mother said as she appeared and kneeled next to him.

"You have to help her mother. She is dying!" Jareth pleaded.

Danu's hands passed over Sarah's wounds. "Jareth I cannot do anything about this. Iron in those wounds prevents even me. All I can do is safely guide her spirit to where it belongs."

Jareth held Sarah's body against himself, her blood flowed freely and soaked his clothes. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her lips turning blue, her blood on his lips and cheeks. He did not care.

"I will always love you.  _Mo ghrá , mo lasair cúpla, mo shaol_..." ********

Danu formed a clear crystal over Sarah's body. "Go Jareth. You must not be seen. You have too many dealings with humans to let yourself be known to them."

Jareth gently laid Sarah into his mother's arms. Looking around eyes burning with rage, he formed a fire crystal, and poured as much energy into it as he could without passing out from the strain. The red orb burned his skin but he ignored the pain.

Screaming he flung it at the tent holding his bones. It exploded in a fire so hot everything would be ash before it was put out.

Taking one last look at Sarah in Danu's arms. He could tell she was gone. He hesitated to leave her there like she was.

"I will take care of this Jareth, go. My magic is stronger and it will be faster." His mother commanded. "Leave the stone, I will need it travel, and I will bring it with me."

Jareth's eyes, full of despair, took one last sweeping look at the tragic scene before him, then he was gone.

Seeing the empty pain in her son's eyes Danu made a decision. Something she would not typically do without permission of the one making the transition, but that was not possible.

She looked into the crystal, then closed her eyes concentrated. She could her a noise growing closer, a wailing screaming noise that she knew meant humans were coming. She paid them no mind.

As she chanted a mist was gathering within the crystal, glowing white, it twisted within as if trying to escape the confines of the glass and flee.

"Not so fast, my dear, not so fast. " She smiled when she was done, the crystal full of light.

She heard running. She stood and saw dim figures approaching her. She held the stone and whispered.

"Hey lady!" Someone yelled.

As they got to the place where the woman had been there was nothing.

Except the body of a woman lying on the ground obviously deceased. The fire crew was only minutes behind. The ambulance had seen the flames far enough away to call in.

Danny fell to the ground beside Sarah's body. "Oh Sarah..I'm so sorry." He cried. He had been used, manipulated, twisted..and now his friend was dead because of it.

Of Teimhnín', there was nothing, not even a pool of blood.

**-Translation of Gaelic Phrases in order of appearance-**

***The Owl King son of Danu and Conall.**

****My blood. Above all others, blood is first.**

*****Come to where I am Danu**

******My love, my twin flame, my life**


	10. Chapter 10

Jareth arrived at his castle, inconsolable and broken. Sarah was lying in the dirt, dead, because of him. "You stupid girl! Why did you do it!" He screamed.

The goblins dashed for the exits. Seeing their king appear in such a rage, covered in blood, was terrifying to them.

Jareth slid to the floor, then laid his head on the stone. His entire being ached with pain and loss. He could feel her absence, like a giant gaping wound in his soul. Half of his very being ripped away. His bare burned hands, bloody from trying to save Sarah, gripped the stone hard, ripping his fingernails making his hands bleed. He didn't care.

A sudden presence next to him wasn't enough to make him open his eyes. Deaglán.

"I am sorry, brother. Mother just informed me what happened. I came immediately. He laid a hand on his younger brother's shoulder.

"Get your hands off of me. What do you care. She was just a simple human girl..remember?" He rose up and gave his brother a foul look.

Deaglán sat beside him on the floor. The look in Jareth's eyes was one he had not seen since their sister was killed. A pain so deep that there was no way to ever heal it completely. It would just remain there for eternity, eating away at him. "But you loved her. It matters not what I said. I see how you are hurting. We may not have been close in the past, but let me be here now. It pains mother and I that you are suffering so badly."

Jareth swallowed hard, nodding once. He was dangerously close of losing control of himself. "Just...if you could watch over things for a few days, brother. I am going to my chambers." He forced himself to his feet and formed a crystal. "I'm not to be disturbed." He threw the crystal and disappeared.

Deaglán sighed, worried for his youngest sibling. He knew Jareth thought he had no care for him, but that was simply wrong. He always worried about Jareth's recklessness, that something like this would happen. Now it had.

He looked up at the ceiling and spoke softly. " _Tá súil agam cad iad do dhéanamh oibreacha, Máthair._ "*  
_

Jareth stripped himself of his bloodied clothes and threw them into the fireplace then laid on the bed staring at the ceiling. "Sarah..if you can hear me..I love you too." He whispered. His throat was tight and it came out a ragged whisper.

He curled into a ball and stayed that way. Letting the pain overtake him.  
_

"It's been days mother. He hasn't come out of his chambers. He blocked it with magic so I could not enter. He needs to move, eat, live." Deaglán reported as he walked beside her to Jareth's chamber doors.

"I am aware. I will speak with him. I have something he needs to know." She informed her son.

Deaglán's eyebrow rose. "Then it worked?"

"Yes. It was a fight to do and the magic had to be modified at certain crucial junctures to make it work correctly in this specific case. It took longer than I had hoped, but just this morning, it was completed." Danu answered. "I have depleted much of my energy and need time to replenish. I have enough to do this, however. Then I can rest."

She pounded on the door. "Jareth. This is your mother. I need to speak with you now. It is urgent. Jareth! Do not defy me!"

A few minutes later the door creaked open.

She turned to Deaglán. "Stay here."

Danu stepped into the dark room. She saw a lump in the middle of the bed on the far side and strode towards it purposefully.

"Jareth, you need to stop this. You need to get up and start functioning again, You are a king." She said to the lump.

It shifted enough that the blanket moved to uncover a blonde head. "I do not care. Sarah is dead. I killed her. Give my throne to someone else. I am not worthy of it." It was barely above a whisper. Danu could hear the raw pain in Jareth's voice.

She went to the curtains and jerked them open. Light falling on the bed.

"You did not kill her. Do not dishonor her with those words. She sacrificed her own life that you could live. You letting yourself waste away or throwing away your kingship would only cause her grief. Enough Jareth. You have duties to attend. I have something to tell you."

He sat up, blocking the sunlight with his hand. "What is it?"

"As you know, one of your duties to your people is to marry and produce children. In keeping with that, I have chosen a wife for you."

Jareth stared at his mother in disbelief. His mouth hanging open."Have you lost your mind? To bring me this now? Do you really think I would have any desire to marry now?! Or ever?!"

"I am in no mood to dispute the matter. Get up and get dressed, Jareth. She is waiting for you. I have her waiting in your study. Oh, and put on something acceptable will you?"

She turned, smirking as she left the room.

Jareth threw himself back on the bed and rubbed his hands over his tired face. "She has to be fucking crazy. Bringing a woman here. Tell me I have to marry some fool woman I do not want. I only wanted one woman, ONE WOMAN MOTHER!" He yelled to no one and everyone.

A voice echoed throughout the chamber. "I mean it, son! Or I will drag you into that study naked and screaming!"

Jareth reluctantly got out of bed and waved a hand over himself, instantly washed and dressed. In defiance of his mother he wore simple breeches and a tunic. She was lucky he didn't wear a fatal suit of iron to keep the surely odious woman from touching him.

A few minutes later he was at the door to his study pacing in front of it, irritated and apprehensive.

"I know you're out there." Came his mother's voice. "Get in here, now."

He pushed the door open slowly. His mother stood by the desk, smiling at him.

His eyes came to rest on the back of a woman looking out the window that overlooked The Labyrinth. A dark haired woman with her hands on the glass. Her dress silver and white and flowing to the ground. A wedding dress of the underground.

"You wish me to get married today?" He looked at his mother, incredulous.

Danu crossed her arms and glared at him. "So little faith in my taste in women for my son? I hope you change your mind. Turn around, my dear, let my son get a look at his new Queen."

As she did, Jareth's heart fell and rose again in an instant as he looked into eyes so green emeralds would be jealous of their hue.  _Her eyes._

"Sarah?" He said whispered, hardly believing it.

"Jareth.." She whispered back, her face lighting up.

Not a second passed that she had thrown herself in his arms and he was kissing her all over her face. His hands touching every part of her, making sure she was real.

"Sarah..Sarah.." He kept saying. His eyes meeting his mother's over her head. "Mother? I thought, I had no idea you planned to.."

"If you had the power to save your child's one true love..would you not try? You will find out what lengths you would go to for your children one day, Jareth. Besides, she earned her place here, in the end. You were right, she is quite brave." She answered, smiling, tears in her eyes.

Sarah pulled back and looked at him. "Jareth...I was so scared he was going to kill you. I'm so sorry. I didn't know what else to do..Even after you said all those things I couldn't bear it."

"Shhh..no sorries, my beloved. What is done is done. I am just..I cannot believe..I thought you were lost to me forever. What I said were lies to distract Teimhnín, nothing more. " They were both crying now.

"It was so strange..I felt myself dying, and then I saw my body below me. I felt myself floating away..then I was pulled back down into a warm pool of...something. I don't remember anything else until this morning." Sarah told him, a hint of wonder in her voice.

Danu clarified. "You know it takes time, the transformation magic. Even longer as she was a human not Kin. Human souls are resistant, apparently, to this magic. She awoke this morning crying for you. Your name was the first word that fell from her lips."

Sarah turned to Danu. "Does this mean..I really died?"

"I'm sorry child. You left your human body behind. The spell itself created your new body in the exact form of your first at the last point you were in it..minus your injuries of course. This is how you will remain."

"My family.." Sarah murmured, and started to tear up again. "They will know by now. Oh..Toby. Karen, my mom and dad. I really can't say goodbye?" She was happy to be in Jareth's arms but sudden grief at the loss of her loved ones was immense. The two competing sets of emotions tore at her, and she started sobbing.

Jareth gathered her in his arms. "I know Sarah. I know. I am sorry for that. But I am not sorry mother saw fit to bring you here. What happened to uncle's body..did you leave it?"

"No. I brought it back with me and gave him rites, now he is burned to ash and scattered to the winds."

Jareth nodded solemnly, satisfied. He could not help feeling a little sad that his uncle's life ended the way it did, with insanity and death.

"So this is the legendary Sarah." Said Deaglán from the doorway. "You have done what no one else has, My Lady, you have captured the heart of the fearsome Goblin King."

Jareth took Sarah's hand and presented her to his brother."This is my brother, Deaglán. Brother, my Queen.  _Mo chroí_."* *****

Danu spoke up. "Not quite yet,  _mo mhac_." *******

She gestured to the two lovers. "Stand in front of me. Jareth hold your hands open and Sarah, lay your hands up and open on top of his."

Sarah wiped her eyes and slid her hands over his, palms up.

"Are you sure Sarah, if you want to wait until you feel less grief.." Jareth asked. He understood she may need some time. As long as she was there, they had forever to marry.

Sarah shook her head. "No. I will always miss them. I love you and I don't want to wait to be your wife. No matter how sad I am about losing them, that will never change. I am sure of that much. I know it will take time to adjust, but knowing I'm here with you helps."

Danu observed this woman's strength and understood Jareth's love for her. She picked up the cords but took a good look at her errant son, frowning. "Jareth I told you to wear something presentable." She flicked her hand and he was in formal wear. "Much better."

Jareth rolled his eyes, grinning at Sarah.

Danu took the cords, one gold and one silver, and wrapped them around the hands of Jareth and Sarah. Then she held her hands palms down over them and spoke the bonding magic.

 _"Ceann croí, aigne amháin, grá amháin. Go deo agus gach am. Tá an dá anamacha faoi cheangal anois go deo, riamh a mhiondealú, ní fiú ag bás. Agus mar sin tá sé."_ ****

They glowed and changed, the silver and gold cords wrapping around one another until they had merged and created one cord. Once they were still, the glow slowly disappeared.

Danu unwrapped the cords and leaned forward, kissing Sarah on both cheeks." _Fáilte go dtí mo theaghlach, mo iníon_."*****

She handed Jareth the cord, as it would reside with the couple whom it represented. Then she repeated the motion of kissing both cheeks on her son. " _Caitheamh léi go maith, mo mhac, nó beidh ort dom chun déileáil leis."******_

Jareth's brother stepped forward and hugged Sarah. " _Deirfiúr Fáilte. Féadfaidh tú a bheith bheannaigh le go leor leanaí_."********

He simply nodded at Jareth and stepped back.

Jareth smiled at him and said wryly, " _Lig dúinn nach fháil amach romhainn de féin_."*********

Everyone laughed except Sarah who still had a lot to learn. "Could you all speak in a language I can understand...I still need to learn the language you know." She pointed out.

Jareth hugged her close. "I will explain everything, Sarah. I swear. We have some business to attend to first I'm afraid."

The Goblin King led her out the door and guided her to the throne room. He waved his hand over to the side and there were Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo who stood staring in shock.

"My subjects, I present to you, your Goblin Queen, The Lady Sarah."

All the creatures were silent, trying process what their king was saying.

After a minute Jareth got annoyed. "Well you ingrates, cheer!" He commanded.

They all erupted into a cacophony of noises so loud Sarah covered her ears.

"Not that loud! blithering idiots." He said and the din died down.

Sarah rushed to her friends whose arms were open and waiting. They were thrilled to see her and that she was now their queen. Even though, Hoggle said, it meant she was married to "the rat."

The celebrations would last through the night. Danu and Deaglán left early so Danu could rest and Jareth and Sarah could retire to their chambers for the evening for some alone time, when they were ready.

After spending a couple of hours talking with her friends and the goblins, Sarah noticed Jareth was getting restless. He sat on his throne looking a bit perturbed.

She sauntered up the steps and he watched her hips sway, licking his lips, hungry for her.

"Jareth, what is it?" She stood in front of him.

He grabbed her and sat her on his lap. "I am done with this. I have need of you, wife." He purred in her ear. "How I adore calling you that. My wife. I love all that it entails. That you are mine and I am yours."

"What about the party?" She looked at him innocently.

"Fuck the party." He answered. "Let's go to my..our chambers."

"You seem to have picked up that word quickly, dear." She raised a brow.

"It's a very satisfying word to use. and even more to do." He kissed her neck. "Sarah..please."

"Let's go." She said, holding out her hands.

They faded from sight and none of their subjects even noticed they had left.  
_

They reappeared in Jareth's bedchamber. Sarah slipped away from him and looked around. Jareth was relieved his mother had seen fit to use a bit of magic to prepare the room. It was clean and neat, candles burning, a fire in the fireplace.

"It's beautiful here. When we first got here, your mother said she had to go and get you so I had a few minutes alone in your office. When I saw The Labyrinth, I was amazed to see how beautiful it truly is. Then I saw you and...well..this seems like a dream. Like I'm lying in a coma somewhere imagining this."

Jareth wrapped his arms around her. "I am very real, as is all of this. I will prove it if you like." He growled into her ear.

She turned in his arms. "So um..I know we were together before but, how does this work? Am I a virgin again? It's really weird, this doesn't feel like anything but my own body. Like I never left it."

"It is your body, Sarah. It is exactly the same as your human form. Your blood, your flesh. Now infused with magic. You are exactly the same as you were in the last seconds before you died, minus the fatal injury. Look."

He pointed to the small bruise on her hand that had remained after her attack. "I guess I did not heal that well enough."

"I'm confused, but I'll get used to it." She answered.

"You will. Sarah, don't worry. It's magic. It does what it's supposed to do. Eventually you will understand when you learn to use it, that to try and explain how and why is like trying to explain the universe. It just is."

He picked her up and she squeaked in surprise at the sudden movement. He walked to the bed and laid her upon it then stood back and stared at her, marvelling at her presence in it.

"I just cannot believe you are here." He said, hardly daring to blink.

"Believe it." She answered. "Now I wish I could get this dress off. I have no idea how it.." She felt a chill, looked down and found herself completely naked. "Jareth!" Crossing her arms over her breasts.

He laughed. "I swear I did not do it. You have your own magic remember? I think you always have. You recall that cave in? That was NOT me. The only other culprit is yourself. I guess those certain powers you received are bit more that I thought."

Sarah watched as his clothes faded until he too was nude. "Besides, saves time. I rather enjoy the view. Though I would be careful of your words in public." He got onto the bed and crawled over her, pressing her to the mattress.

She looked up at his smiling face and all was forgiven. The joy she saw there, the love, how could she be anything but happy at this moment? In his eyes she felt truly cherished. It made her feel incredibly humble, and powerful.

"Make love to me." She breathed. "I need to break this body in a little."

He kissed her gently at first but the desire built with each touch, each caress, until they were rubbing against each other moaning with need.

"I need to be inside of you, Sarah, I can't wait any longer." He spread her legs and lay between, his erection nudging her warm entrance.

Sarah relaxed her body and let him in. Her body cradling him as he joined with her. He didn't move for a little while, just reveling in the feeling of her body surrounding his. How well she fit him.

"Do I feel the same?" She asked softly.

"Better. Because now I never have to be apart from you my passion is not colored with any thoughts of loss." He answered. Caressing her face. "You are as perfect for me as you always have been." He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing away her fears.

"Jareth please..I want you..I need you to move." She gasped out in between their kisses. He leaned back and looked down at her, watching himself as he slid out slowly then thrust back in. Her body taking all of him.

"My wife." He said. "My Sarah."

He laid back down and began to move his hips, rotating and thrusting. Sarah's cries of passion driving him on. He noticed another voice joining hers, and it dawned on him it was his. He was as loud as she. This union, this consummation bringing them to the most powerful release that had ever experienced together.

He smothered her cries with his lips, kissing her, suckling her lips. Her fingernails were breaking the skin on his back but he did not care.

He grabbed her restless hands and twined their fingers together, holding them up on either side of her head as he plunged into her.

Sarah arched up, she knew she was screaming but did not care. She had never experienced this before. She couldn't explain it. They had become one entity reaching for the heavens.

"Come with me, Sarah." He said into her ear. So she did.

When her release came, it was like an earthquake had been loosed inside her. She was shaking and screaming his name her muscles grasping onto him and squeezing, milking him.

He was ramming into her with everything in him. His orgasm overwhelming his senses, and she took every bit of it gladly. Receiving everything he gave her, her legs wrapped around him. His seed filling her.

A few minutes later, Jareth was practically comatose, he couldn't move for several minutes after their powerful release. When he did it was to turn and look at her face to find she was looking at him with huge eyes.

"Gods." He said. "So that's what it's like to be bonded."

"I really have no basis for comparison about that." She answered. "I can say this much, the sex has always been amazing, but that was beyond anything from before."

Jareth shifted to lay beside her. "It is the magic."

Sarah shook her head. "I don't think it is. I think it's just us. I think we make our own type of magic." She smiled.

He laid back, a dreamy look on his face. "Well I will not argue. As long as we keep doing that you will not hear one word of dissent about it from me."

Sarah giggled. "Oh I'm sure I'll hear plenty."

"Yes, but not about this. Just everything else." He wiggled his eyebrows, then brought her over to himself and kissed her. "I have no doubt we will argue. Since you just live to defy me."

"True. It is fun." Sarah answered. "But it's also fun to make up."

Jareth chuckled. "Of that I have no doubt. However I do have one regret."

Sarah gave him a suspicious look. "Oh?"

"Yes. I am afraid we will never know what happened to Lady Beatrice and her pirate. Does she choose the boring merchant or sail off into the sunset on a pirate ship?" Jareth said dramatically laying his hand over his heart. "I fear we will never know."

Sarah laughed. "You're in luck. I finished it. Let me fill you in, but later."

She snuggled into his warm body and kissed him deeply once again, her desire flaring to life. "Much much later."

"Yes, my queen." He answered, rolling her on top of his body. "We have magic to make."  
_

As the goblins danced and drank below, their king with his new queen had their own private celebration that took most up most of the night.

By the time the sun rose the next day, filtering through the curtains of the royal chambers, the two exhausted monarchs were wrapped around each other. Peacefully asleep, and blissfully together as it always should have been, and now always will be.

Fin.

 

 

 

**Translations of the Gaelic/Irish phrases in order of appearance:**

***I hope what your are doing works, Mother.**

****My heart**

*****My son**

******One heart, one mind, one love. For ever and all time. These two souls are now bound eternally, never to be broken, not even by death. And so it is.**

*******Welcome to my family, my daughter.**

********Treat her well, my son, or you will have me to deal with.**

*********Welcome, sister. May you be blessed with many children.**

**********Let us not get ahead of ourselves.**


	11. Epilogue Part 1

Toby Williams was miserable. At 13 years of age this wasn't a surprise, but today he had a real reason for it.

Today they buried his sister. It had taken nearly two weeks for her remains to arrive from Ireland, along with several bags of belongings.

Last week Karen and Sarah's mother Linda went to Sarah's apartment in New York to take care of going through her things, donating most of them, only keeping a few things as keepsakes.

They had been genuinely surprised, when they had called Linda to tell of Sarah's passing that she wanted to help. It seemed the last couple of years she had begun to regret how she had treated her only daughter, and felt this is the least she could do for her.

One last thing.

So now what was left of Sarah's life was in 3 boxes in the Williams' attic.

Except 3 things. Her bear Lancelot, The little red book she so loved, and her laptop. Richard and Karen talked it over and decided she would have wanted Toby to have it. They also save her archaeologists' tools at Toby's request. He thought maybe someday he would like to follow in her footsteps.

The man who had shot and killed Sarah had disappeared. The other man, Daniel Lincoln, had said he had shot him, but they couldn't find him. Professor O'Donnell was missing and wanted for murder. The other man Daniel and several other witnesses had spoke of, Jay Williams, no one could find any trace of. All they found on the computer were documents relating to Sarah's work, a few games, and her journal where they discovered she was writing some sort of fairy tale.

Daniel who had been Sarah's friend, accompanied her body home. He felt it was the least he could do. O'Connell had convinced him she was trying to steal artifacts and to go out to the site to stop her and it had escalated from there. He felt bad he had believed him and not saved Sarah.

They had proven the gun Daniel had on his person had not been used to shoot Sarah, and he had numerous injuries to prove he too, had been attacked.

A fire destroyed everything and they could not discern a cause of it. It had been stormy that night so they chalked it up to a freak lightning strike.

Now Toby sat at his desk in his room staring at Sarah's computer. This was all that was left. Toby sniffed his tears back and opened it, turning it on.

He played around with it looking to see if there was any clue. Why was his sister dead? What had really happened? He couldn't wrap his head around it.

It was after midnight but he couldn't sleep. In the corner of the computer screen there was an icon shaped like a book, so he clicked it.

There in front of him was Sarah's journal. He started at the beginning. Her excitement at going to Ireland, her daily work. things she found.

Then it changed. She started tell a story. A story of a man named Jareth. About people who had lived thousands of years ago but were forced to leave this world and create another or else be slaughtered.

Toby could not stop reading. Something deep inside said, that to Sarah, this was no fairytale.

The Owl King, also known as The Goblin King.

That phrase stuck in his mind and a memory of a dream he had when he was little crossed his mind. A blond haired man smiling down at him. singing to him.

The red book nearby caught his eye and he picked it up. He opened it and within an hour had read it cover to cover.

Jareth The Goblin King, Jareth the Owl King. They had to be the same.

"I wish..." Toby read out loud. "I wish.."

He took a deep breath. "I wish that if The Goblin King is real, he would come to me."  
_

Jareth was lounging on his throne. Sarah had went for a walk with her friends. He wasn't too keen on sharing her just yet, but knew he had to let her be who she was. It had been almost 3 months now and she was still adjusting. Her friends were helping her deal with leaving her world behind, bringing her comfort. While he wanted to be the only one to do so, he knew she needed to have them. They were important to her.

As he closed his eyes and leaned back, he felt a tug. The power of the wish. But this was different. No one was wishing a child away.

"What in all the lands is that?" He stilled and listened closely.

Someone was calling him and the feeling was familiar. Not unlike Sarah, but not Sarah.

"Tell my wife I went for a flight." He told the goblins nearby.

He changed into his owl form and glided high over his kingdom, watching with avian eyes as the horizon shifted and he was once again in the mortal world. Following the magic.

He was, to say the least, surprised to find himself at Sarah's' childhood home.

He landed on a window sill and just inside was a blond haired boy, looking back at him. He tapped on the window with his beak, gesturing at the latch.

The boy opened the window and Jareth flew in, becoming a man as he crossed the threshold.

"You are real." The boy said.

"Toby?" Jareth asked, startled.

"You know me? " Toby answered.

"Well of course after all I...well I met you long ago with your sister."

The sadness on the boy's face was heart wrenching. "Sarah is...dead." He sobbed.

"I am sorry Toby." Jareth truthfully was. He knew how it felt to lose a sister.

"She was writing about you on her computer. She knew you were real. She loved you. Can't you bring her back?" Toby pleaded.

He got on his knees and clasped his hands together. "Please? Please can you? You have magic. I miss her so much. Even though the past few years I didn't see her a lot. She was my hero. She would never back down from a challenge. I don't know what I'm going to do without her."

He cried and hiccuped his big blue eyes so full of pain, Jareth could hardly bear it. "I'll do anything you want. Just bring her back."

Jareth closed his eyes. What would Sarah want him to do? This was unexpected. They never talked about something like this.

"Stand up Toby. No more begging. It is not necessary. I have a story to tell you."

Toby got up and sat on the bed and Jareth sat on the desk chair.

Jareth began at the beginning. "Once upon a time there was a beautiful young woman named Sarah. She fell in love with a king that she did not realize fell in love with her as well. Years passed, and the woman went halfway around the world. In a strange twist of fate she was able to met that king again. They fell deeply in love, but worried that they could never be together."

He paused to let it sink in.

"One night, the beautiful woman, who had been helping the king with a problem he had, made a choice. She chose to save her king and sacrifice herself for the one she loved, as well as many others who might have suffered at the hands of a very bad man. It was there she died. In the arms of that king."

"You mean..you were there when..you let her.." Toby stammered.

"I am not done." Jareth said holding up his hand.

Toby closed his mouth and listened.

"The king's mother was touched by the sacrifice of this woman to save her son. She retrieved the woman's soul and brought it to the underground. There, she was brought back and given new life. She married her king, whom she loves, and who loves her with ever fiber of his being."

Toby replayed the story he had just been told. Then replayed it again, his mind trying to process the story and what it all meant.

Then it clicked.

He looked up and met The Goblin King's knowing gaze. "Sarah is alive?"

Jareth smiled. "She is alive. She lives with me as my wife."

Toby threw himself unexpectedly into Jareth's arms and sobbed again, this time with relief. "When is she coming home? I mean if she if your wife I understand she can't stay, but to visit?"

Jareth sighed, as he gently removed the boy from his arms. This was the hard part. "She cannot come back, Toby, I'm sorry. She is Kin now. Only I come to the human world on the power of the wish I am bound to. She misses you, all of you terribly."

Toby backed up and wiped his eyes. "Can I go there?"

"To gain entry to my world unless you are bound to the challenge of The Labyrinth, you have to die here. Sarah does not want that for you. She wants you live your life. Live it with fierce abandon. To love and laugh, enjoy every minute. Your family needs you now more than ever."

Jareth stood. "I cannot stay much longer, I am afraid, Toby. The magic is pulling me home."

"Wait!" Toby grabbed his arm. "Will you tell her that I love her, and that I miss her too? We all do. Her mom too. Tell her..Linda regrets how she left things with Sarah, and loves her very much. She will want to know that. Can you take her this? She always loved it so much. She gave it to me but when she left home I gave it back so she wouldn't forget me."

Toby held out Lancelot.

"I will Sir Toby." He took the bear and went to the window. "Remember, Live your life with joy. Your sister will always love you. This I know."

Jareth turned into an owl and took flight carrying the bear in his beak, flying to the horizon as Toby watched.  
_

Jareth told Sarah what had happened. She wept for her brother but was glad he knew she was okay. She just wished there was a way. Jareth told her he had an idea. When he explained, she smiled and agreed, hugging him fiercely.

The next night Toby was sleeping when he was woken up by a slight noise. He sat up and looked around. On the desk was a crystal sitting on a piece of paper. "What in the world?" He mumbled sleepily.

He got out of bed and rubbing his eyes picked them both up one object in each hand.

 _Prick your finger, and place drop of blood on the crystal._ The paper said.

Toby grabbed his pocketknife and did so.

Inside a yellow mist swirled then coalesced into Sarah's form.

She spoke, and he could hear her inside his head. _"This is a tricky piece of magic Jareth cooked up huh Tobes? Something about blood calling blood, creating a thread between us so we can sort of communicate. He got the idea from the feel of your call to him, that it was similar to mine. Because you don't have magic on your end I can see you but not hear you. You are getting so tall. So handsome. Anyway, I got your message. I love you too. I miss you more than anything, all of you. I'm okay. Wonderful really except miss you guys. Jareth, who you met, takes very good care of me. He said time works differently there than here. That there it's only been a couple of weeks but here it's been several months. He said I can send you these messages once in awhile, if we are careful. It's far too dangerous to open the door too often, but he has a way, and the magic for this is almost untraceable. "_

 _T_ he picture shifted and Toby could see more of her now. _"Wanted to let you know, I'm going to have a baby. We just found out. It's very exciting. People here have a hard time having them. We are incredibly blessed. You're going to be an uncle and this little one will know all about all of you."_

She held up Lancelot. " _I will give this to him or her. So there will always be a piece of you with us."_

It shifted forward again.  _"Thank you for telling me about my mom. It made me feel better about her. I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye, but please don't be sad okay? Please go out and enjoy your life. I will always be in your heart, and I will always love all of you forever. I'm safe now, and happy. I promise."_

She turned to look beside her and nodded as if someone was talking to her.  _"I have to end this message now Toby. Can't make it too long. The longer it is the more it takes to send it through. I love you always."_

She blew him a kiss, her eyes tearing up, then it went dark.

A second later the crystal popped into nothingness. Taking the paper with it.

Toby crawled back in bed. He was awake a long time thinking about her words.

He would miss her and always will, but he knew she was okay. She seemed happy even. She was having a baby and married to the man he knew she had loved since she was teenager.

Should I be angry? He thought.

Maybe he should, but he wasn't. Somehow, he got it. She had to move on and be what she was meant to be.

A handful of minutes later he fell asleep, feeling better than he had in weeks.  
_

The crystal on the other end went dark. Jareth closed his hand and it disappeared. He gathered his teary wife in his arms. "He will be fine now Sarah. They all will."

She sat back against the headboard of their bed. "I know. I just miss them. Especially now." She smoothed her hands over her abdomen, still fairly flat as she was only a couple of months along.

"You are bringing new life into this world, my love. Life it desperately needs. My mother...you should have seen her. I thought was going to literally jump over the moon with joy!" He told her, a light in his eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her tears away. "I love you,  _mo lasair cúpla_."

"Back at you." She teased. She was still learning.

Jareth chuckled. "You need to practice. Our children must know both of their languages."

"I will eventually. I need a nap. Stay with me?" Sarah asked him.

"Always." Jareth answered. "That is a promise I intend on keeping."

He leaned back and as Sarah slept in his arms, their child safe in her womb, he was finally able to let himself dream about the future. The future he had not allowed himself to think of for so long. The one he would now share with the beautiful woman who sacrificed everything for him. " _Mo Slánaitheoir, mo beloved Sarah_."**

***my twin flame.**

****My Savior, My beloved Sarah.**


	12. Epilogue Part 2

-News Report: Longport, Rhode Island-

Locally born Tobias Williams, 37, died in a tragic accident while trying to summit, for a second time, Mt. Everest 3 days ago.

Mr. Williams was the author of a series of fantasy novels that took the world by storm, The Owl King Chronicles. He never wrote another book, saying he told the story he wanted to tell and he was done with writing. He went on to become an adventurer and was also a member of Greenpeace and The Peace Corps. He never married and is survived by his mother Karen and a younger sister, Julia Williams. His older sister, Sarah Williams, was murdered nearly 24 years ago in Ireland, and his father Robert died 2 years ago of a heart attack.

Only 2 members of the team survived the massive avalanche that killed Mr. Williams. He had thrown himself over the two men to save them. Both men firmly believe without Mr. Williams' actions, they would have died as well.

"Toby, he was such a fighter." One of Mr. Williams' companions, Geoff Gray, recalled from his hospital bed. "He never gave up. He kept trying. Kept pushing. Then when we were up there, and the whole wall of snow and ice were coming at us, he literally put himself in harm's way to save us. I swear when I was out of it, I looked over at where he was lying, broken and bloody, and there were not one, but two angels, a blonde man and a dark haired woman, standing over him and smiling, the man holding up a large crystal. He always said he had guardian angels. Maybe they came to take him to wherever we go when we die."

This is a transcript of the last known interview Mr. Williams did, after publishing his final book.

_Q-Good morning everyone! Welcome to Wake Up Rhode Island! We are here with w_ _orld renowned author Tobias Williams to discuss the recent release of the 3rd book in his Owl King Trilogy, Love's Sacrifice. How are you doing today, Mr. Williams?"_

_A-Toby, please._

_Q- It says on my notes, you just got back from attempting to climb Mt. Everest? You also have worked on an ice ship in Antarctica, cliff diving in Hawaii, and plan on competing in the next Iron Man triathalon. You worked with The Peace Corps and are an active member of Greenpeace. You are quite the adventurer. Or do you have a death wish._

_A-I made a vow to live my life free from worry and regret a long time ago. Do everything, try everything. Enjoy every experience this world has to offer. Attempt is right (laughter) I didn't make it to the top of Everest, but I did summit Mt. Fuji in Japan. It was amazing. I'll try Everest again someday. No death wish. Just an understanding time is too short to waste._

_Q-Alright Toby. The past few years your books have caused quite a stir in the fantasy genre, can you give us a brief description of this one?_

_A-Sure. Love's Sacrifice is about The Owl King returning to Sarah's life after so many years apart, and they find each other again._

_Q-Now on a sad note, the Sarah character is rumored to be named after your sister who was murdered nearly 20 years ago. Is this true?_

_A-Yes, Sarah is modeled after my older sister. She was brave and smart, and always went after what she wanted too._

_Q-That must have been hard at 13 to deal with._

_A-Obviously losing someone you love is hard at any age. My parents had another daughter, Julie, when I was 15. Kind of weird how that worked, as I was born about that time in Sarah's life. Having a baby sister helped me to see why she always told me to follow my dreams. When you love someone unconditionally, you want those things for them. She followed her dreams and though we lost her, I know it was what she wanted and we would have been selfish to keep her from it._

_Q- They never caught the killer either. That makes it even harder._

_A-No, but I have a suspicion, a feeling if you will, that Karma got him in the end. I'm certain he is dead. I went to the place she died a few years ago, in Ireland. There isn't anything there now really. There was a fire that burned everything the archaeologists were working on to dust, so it was abandoned. Little remains except a few half filled holes in the ground._ _Locals say the area is cursed.  
_ _What is funny, I talked to an elderly lady who runs the museum there, and she swore she met Sarah in the company of a Fae man. Which obviously is a little out there...but I never say never, Sarah always had a bit of magic about her._

_Q-What inspired you to write The Owl King series? What mythologies, stories ideas went into it?"_

_A-It's..hard to say, really. Sarah, she had this book and she loved it. She love the character of the king in it I daresay she had quite a crush on him. The book was destroyed years ago in a fire, and I could never find another copy. There was no ISBN number or anything, no author even. It was like it was written just for her to find._ _Anyway, this king could turn into an owl, and the girl in it who was a teenager, fell in love with him and he her, but it ended. Really, I wrote it for her more than anyone. I know it's a story she would be proud of._

_Q- I never heard of any story like that._

_A-Me either, except for that book. There are some myths around the world about a magical being that steals or takes babies that are wished away, but nothing cohesive. So using that and my sister's penchant for fantasy, I took the seed of that story and expanded upon it. She wishes her baby sibling away, solves a great maze to get him back, and her and the king fall in love. However she is too young and they live in different worlds. This last one is the big one. Sarah is older, they find each other again, and they struggle to be together against all odds._

_Q- Not spoil it, but your fans are up in arms about...shall I say?_

_A- Most of my fans have read it by now, it's been a couple of months._

_Q- Well it's not often you kill off a main character. Though in the end it turns out okay. Do you think the reason why you ended it in such a way is because of what happened to your sister? Wishing she were still alive somewhere?_

_A Exactly. The idea, that while Sarah died here on earth, but she isn't dead. That somewhere she is with her Owl King in another world. She was brought back to life. She is happy and free, and maybe they have a couple of kids by now. I like to think Sarah is out there somewhere, happy, loved and in love._

_Q- Do you think she is?_

_A- It's just a fantasy of course, but those times went I think of her, and I'm sad, it helps to think maybe it's true. That there is more out there than just here. Maybe that king came for her after all, in her final moments._

_Q-Do you think where ever she is, is where you will go someday?_

_A- Anything is possible. Who knows? I don't give up hope I will see her again someday. That we can sit and talk and speak of our lives since we parted. It's a nice thought. Maybe in my final moments, she will come for me._

_Q-"Well,_ _T_ _oby, we are about out of time here, you are truly a fascinating man. Best of luck on your next adventure!_

_A- Thank you. It's been great talking to all of you. Enjoy the books!_

Was one of Mr. Williams' guardian angels the spirit of his sister? Or was Mr. Gray concussed and hallucinating? I guess we'll never know. It's nice to think there is something more out there, waiting for us.

In any case, Mr. Williams will be missed. His words live on in The Owl King Chronicles, rumored to be soon made into movies. We are sad he did not live to see them.

-End of report-

 

END

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first posting on AO3. I have 17 stories on FFN and a few on AFF. Enjoy and please be kind :) Just a warning, I only work around certain mythologies, I don't strictly adhere to any formal interpretation of them. This WIP has been well liked the past few weeks so I thought it would be a good intro to the site. Blessings to all!


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